There's always room for one more
by fenomena
Summary: Kurt and Noah jumps into the tough job as foster parents to a kid that really needs a safe and loving home. The kid's special and even though it's hard sometimes, it's so worth it. Rated M from chapter 6 and forth. Sequel to A summer at the country and A happy surprise, but can probably be read alone.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, everyone that found this fic! This is a sequel to **_**A summer at the country**_** and **_**A happy surprise**_**, but you could probably read this without reading those first. It's been three years since Noah's and Kurt's wedding when this fic starts, because I really needed the girls to be a bit older for this to work. I already have it all (almost) planned out and I hope you'll like it. Please review and tell me! Love you all. /fenomena**

* * *

"_What's going on here?"_ Kurt thought as he walked into the Kindergarten after work to bring Alice home. All the kids were standing in a circle around something that he couldn't see and the air was buzzing with excitement. He noticed his five year old daughter to the left, smiling happily and almost bouncing up and down on her feet like she always did when she was excited. She wasn't very good at being still and quiet. Kurt smiled as he watched her and as if she could feel his presence she turned her head and looked right at him.

A second later he had his arms full with a happy babbling girl.

"Dad! I want a baby brother, too! Pleeease, can I have one? Pleeease?" she pleaded and right then the hallway was filled with a loud scream from a baby that obviously was the center of everyone's attention.

"Who's baby is that?" Kurt asked curiously because he couldn't see the baby or the mother.

"That's Kelly's new brother! He's only two weeks old, and he's so cute and I want one!" Alice answered and pointed towards the group.

_Oh, yeah right, Kelly got a little brother._ Kurt suddenly remembered hearing something about that on the parent-teachers conference the week before. The truth was that Kelly's mother was one of the parents that Kurt and Noah couldn't stand. She was always dressed in designer clothes, her hair was dyed blonde, her boobs were too big and she was way too loud. She was a typical housewife with too much money and she could do nothing wrong if you asked her. Of course she was here to show off her new baby before dumping it in the arms of some nanny to not see it for five years or so.

"Dad! You're not listening!" Alice shouted and Kurt sighed and turned his attention back to her.

"Yes, I am, sweetie, but you can't just get a brother because you want one. That's not how it works" he said and saw his daughters smile disappear. Kurt met Kelly's mother's eyes for a second, and he could swear that she had a disapproving frown on her face as she watched him.

"But Daaad!" she whined and Kurt rolled his eyes at her attempt at persuading him. "I want one!"

"Yeah, there's a lot of things in the world that I want, but I don't get it by whining" he said and sighed. "Go and get your things. We're picking up your sister and I don't want her to have to wait."

Alice groaned but headed off to get her backpack and jacket. Kurt smiled as he saw her stomp her feet in protest. She was such a little drama queen and he knew that this conversation was far from over. She was way too stubborn to give up that easily.

"Poor Alice that can't have a biological brother or sister" Kelly's mom said as she passed Kurt in the hallway with the baby in her arms.

"What?" Kurt asked confused.

"Yeah, I mean, every kid should get a brother or sister if they want one, but I guess it's not as easy for _your kind_" she said and started to turn her back against him.

"Our kind?" Kurt said with a scoff. "I'll be happy to tell you that Alice is mine and Noah's biological daughter, and she has a sister that's also ours. I carried them both, just like you!" he snapped and watched her stiffen and make a grimace.

"Oh…" she said and eyed him up and down. "Well, that's just _disturbing_" she said and walked off; leaving Kurt speechless with his mouth hanging open. Even though he had heard every insult throughout his life, it never stopped hurting, and especially not when it was about his family.

The thing was that Kurt actually thought that they all knew that he had been pregnant. They lived in Lima after all and people gossiped way too much for him to be comfortable about it. But apparently they didn't talk as much as he thought. He fought back the tears that threatened to fall and composed himself just as Alice walked past him; silent, but with a sour expression.

They picked up Maya at her daycare before heading home to Noah. It was the last days of February and the air was a bit chilly as they walked into their house. They had bought it a couple of years ago and it was a small but cozy white brick house. It had three small bedrooms, a quite large living room, a normal sized kitchen and a big walk-in closet that was Kurt's pride and joy.

* * *

"Daddy! I want a brother!" Alice screamed the second she walked into the kitchen where Noah was preparing dinner. Kurt rolled his eyes as Noah said "Oh, why?"

"Kelly's mom was at school today" Kurt sighed and Noah whispered 'Oh' as he immediately understood.

"His name's Kevin, and he's sooo cute!" Alice continued; no sign of letting this go for the next couple of hours.

At dinner, Alice quickly got Maya to want a baby as well, and Kurt was close to losing it. Kelly's mom's mean words rang through his head as he washed up after dinner and more than once he had to wipe away a tear before someone noticed. He hated how this affected him so strongly and sometimes he worried about what would happen when the girls got bigger and some idiot decided to bully them for having two gay dads.

"Talk to me, honey" Noah said as he wrapped his strong arms around Kurt from behind just as he washed the last plate and rinsed it under the running water.

Kurt sighed and leaned back against the warm body that was pressed to his back. He could feel Noah's lips nipping at his neck and felt him waiting patiently in silence.

"It was just something Kelly's mom said."

"What?" Noah said and Kurt could feel him tense. He knew that Noah didn't like her and that it was never good news when she was involved. "Kurt, what did she say?"

Kurt dried his hands on a towel and slowly turned around in his husbands arms so that he could hide his face in the crook of his neck. They tightened their arms around each other and Kurt closed his eyes.

"Just that it was…disturbing…that I carried the girls" he whispered and hugged him closer as he felt Noah trying to take a step back. "Please hold me" he whispered and let his tears finally fall.

"Wow, I knew she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I didn't know that she was mean" Noah sighed and kissed Kurt's hair. "You know she's wrong though, right?"

Kurt nodded and tightened his grip.

"She is, honey. Our family is beautiful. I mean, the nature made you like this and it's a gift. Our girls are the best thing that's ever happened to us, Kurt. Please, don't let her destroy this."

"I won't" Kurt promised and tried his tears on Noah's shirt. "Thank you."

"Did you just wipe your face on me, babe?" Noah chuckled and kissed Kurt's nose as he nodded with a chuckle. "I love you" he added and kissed his lips lovingly.

"I love you, too" Kurt said and claimed his lips again; pulling him closer to his body.

"Can I take Maya tonight?" Kurt asked as they walked towards the girl's bedrooms to tuck them in. He knew that Alice would continue her rant about a baby and he just couldn't take it right now.

"Sure" Noah said and pecked him on the lips before walking into their oldest daughter's bedroom.

* * *

"Hi, Maya" Kurt said as he sat down on her bed and pulled the covers up over her body. "Did you already pick out a book to read?" he asked as he saw her holding one.

"Yes, I want this" Maya said and turned onto her side as Kurt lay down beside her. The bed was too short for him to be comfortable, but Maya liked it when he was right beside her, so he was, even though his back was stiff afterwards.

"Okay" Kurt said as he opened 'And Tango makes three' and began to read.

_In the middle of New York City there is a great big park called Central Park. Children love to play there. It has a toy-boat pond where they can sail their boats. It has a… _

The book was one of the girl's favorite, because the baby penguin Tango had two dads just like Alice and Maya. Kurt had been so happy when he found it in a bookstore and the girls could recite parts of it without even trying.

_And all the children who came to the zoo could see Tango and her two fathers playing in the penguin house with the other penguins. _

"_Hooray, Roy!" "Hooray, Silo!" "Welcome, Tango!" they cheered. _

_At night the three penguins returned to their nest. There they snuggled together and, like all the other animals in the zoo, and all the families in the big city around them, they fell asleep._

"Dad…" Maya said when he closed the book.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he said and turned to face her. Her eyelids were drooping and she was almost asleep already, but the fought to stay awake like every other night.

"I think I want a sister instead of a brother" she said quietly and Kurt smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"I don't think there will be a brother or a sister, honey" he said and heard himself sound a bit sad. "And you already have Alice" he added and watched her nod before her eyes closed and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.

* * *

"Kurt?" Noah said when they were finally in their own bed later that night. "Would you want another child if it was possible?"

"Not you, too!" Kurt groaned and refused to face his husband. "You know that I can't do that again! Will everyone stop asking already?" he said frustrated and turned over; his back facing Noah.

"I know, honey. I know, but I didn't mean that you should be pregnant" Noah explained quickly. "There's other ways if this is something we want."

Noah came from a big family and they had talked a lot about the fact that he wanted lots of kids of his own. Kurt was an only child and his only wish had been that Alice wouldn't be alone. After Maya was born he hadn't thought about having more kids, but he knew that Noah wanted at least one more.

"You mean like a surrogate or adoption?" he asked curiously, surprised that this sounded quite interesting.

"I don't know if I would be comfortable with a surrogate though" Noah said and Kurt felt a bit relieved. It had always felt kind of weird when he thought about it. "But there are lots of kids out there that need parents."

"Yeah, I know" Kurt said and turned around to face his husband. "But adoption is so expensive, and we will have to wait for years and…I don't know…"

"We could always be foster parents" Noah suggested and Kurt met his eyes.

"You've been thinking about this, haven't you?" he asked when he saw the interest in Noah's eyes.

"Yeah… a bit" he confessed. "Is that okay?"

"Of course" Kurt said and reached out to squeeze his husband's hand. "I actually thought about it a while ago when I was talking to Elliott and he said something about being grateful for your parents taking him and Elina in when…" Kurt turned silent.

Elliott and Elina were Noah's brother and sister, but they were biologically his cousins. Their parent's had died in an awful car accident when Elliott was just a toddler, and Noah's parents Carol and Eric had adopted them right after that.

"You did?" Noah asked hopefully when he heard the warmth in Kurt's voice.

"Yes, but not for long. I just considered what it would be like, but I never actually thought about doing it" he confessed and saw Noah's smile disappear. "Maybe we could look into it some more and learn a bit about how it's working before deciding anything?"

"Oh, yeah, I mean, of course we're not deciding anything tonight!" Noah said immediately. "But…do you really wanna think about it at all? We don't have to…"

"I know, but it's kind of interesting actually…" Kurt said and bit his lower lip as he thought about it. He snuggled closer to Noah and pulled their blankets up around them. "Now, let's sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow."

Noah fell asleep immediately but Kurt stayed awake, thinking about his own mother that didn't care about him at all. What if he hadn't had his dad when he was a kid? Would someone have noticed that his house wasn't a good place for him to live in and placed him in a foster family? There were probably thousands of kids out there that needed a place to feel safe and loved in, and maybe he and Noah could give them that…

* * *

The next few months passed in a haze. They had gathered some information about being foster parents and the more they learned, the more excited they got. A meeting with the local County Family and Children's Services taught them that they needed to complete some pre-service classes and the next six weeks they went to two classes a week. The thought of keeping this a secret until they were (hopefully) accepted turned out to be impossible. Both of them needed to attend the classes and the kids were not allowed to tag along, so of course they needed baby sitters.

Sam and Blaine, that had been a couple ever since Kurt and Noah's wedding three years ago happily took the girls in during this and Alice and Maya loved spending time with Blaine's son Max that was now six years old and full of energy.

* * *

"Girls? Get in here!" Kurt shouted from the living room one Sunday afternoon. He and Noah had recently completed all of the lessons and now they needed a talk with their daughter's before proceeding. They knew that the girls wanted another sibling, but of course they had expected it to be a newborn baby.

"What is it? I was playing with my Barbie's!" Alice said as she walked into the room with a doll in one hand and a pink hairbrush in the other.

Maya just sat there and waited for Noah to join them, and then she happily climbed into his lap without a word and snuggled close to his chest as Kurt cleared his throat.

"So, girls…there's something we wanted to talk to you about" he started and met Noah's eyes. "We've been thinking about what you said earlier about having another brother or sister…"

"We're gonna have a brother?" Alice squealed and jumped up and down on the couch while clapping her hands. Maya watched them with huge brown eyes and an open mouth.

"I want a sister" she said with a pout and the two fathers smiled.

"There's not gonna be a baby though" Noah said and the girls went silent.

"What? WHY?" Alice screamed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Because you girls grew in Dad's tummy and we can't do that again. It hurt his body too much when me made you two" Noah tried to explain but the girls looked really confused.

"Was I in Dad's tummy?" Maya asked with huge dark eyes and Noah stood up to get the photo albums.

"Look" he said as he flipped through it. "See how big Dad's tummy is?" he asked and they all nodded. "That's because you" he said and kissed Alice' cheek "…is in there. This is just a week before you came out to us, and we were so incredibly happy."

"That's me, in there?" Alice said with awe. Kurt nodded and wondered why they didn't look at these photos more often.

"Where's me?" Maya asked and Kurt chuckled at her words. Noah flipped through almost to the end before pointing at a picture of Kurt in their bed with a plate of cookies balancing on his big belly.

"That's you, in there" he said and pointed. "This is on Christmas Eve, and you came out about ten days later. A perfect Christmas gift" he added and kissed his youngest daughter's light brown hair.

"Is he gonna be in _your_ tummy, Daddy?" Alice suddenly asked and Noah looked confused for a second before she added "I mean our new brother! Is he gonna be in your tummy?"

"What? No, I can't do that. Only your dad can."

"But where's he gonna be then?" Maya asked.

"There's not gonna be a small baby" Kurt explained and sighed. How where they going to explain this? "You know, some kids don't have a mommy or a daddy and they need somebody to take care of them…" he started and watched Alice pull her eyebrows together in confusion.

"And your dad and I have been talking about maybe help one of those kids." Noah added and smiled. "We don't know if it's gonna be a girl or a boy and we don't know how old he or she is yet."

"And we don't even know if we're gonna do this at all" Kurt said and smiled. "We want to hear what you guys think about it first before we do anything."

"They don't have mommies or daddies?" Maya asked and looked like she was about to cry.

"Well, they mostly have at least one of those, but maybe they can't take care of their kids. They may be sick or don't have any money or things like that" Noah tried to explain without telling the small girls about kids that got beaten or was treated badly by their parents, and therefor needed another home for a while.

"We have to help them!" Alice whispered and Kurt hugged her closer to his side.

"We'll try, sweeties and hopefully it will be soon. Are you okay with having another child living here with us?"

Maya nodded and Alice said a quiet 'Mmm' as she cuddled closer to her dad. They spent the rest of the day talking and watching movies and decided that they wouldn't rush this. It would have to take some time so the girls could get used to the idea.

* * *

The social workers called a day in June to prepare them for a visit in their home. Kurt sacrificed his walk-in closet and they bought a bed and put in some furniture in the rather large space that even had a window. The walls were painted a calm green color and they bought pillows and curtains that matched.

Mrs. Susan Finch from the social services came and visited a few weeks later and had individual talks with all the family members after inspecting the house and the room that would be their foster child's when he or she moved in.

Everything went smoothly and she smiled big when she shook their hands and said goodbye later that day. She came back unscheduled a week later and that too went very well.

In September, 7 months after their first talk, they got their license. Now they just had to wait for a child in need of their help.

* * *

**A/N: So, yeah, maybe this was a bit rushed, and I know it's not this easy to be a foster parent, but this is a fic, and I'm in charge, so I can do whatever I want. Moahaha. No, seriously, please give this a chance. I already have the kid written and a lot of stories in my head, so give it a shot! Now, please tell me what you thought. Should I continue? The kid's cute, I promise. **

**Also, the book that Kurt was reading for Maya is called 'And Tango makes three' and is written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Read it if you haven't. It's super cute.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, hello everyone! I'm happy that so many of you have found this story. I don't want to ramble on here, but is anyone interested in the Blaine/Sam story? I thought about writing their story as a companion piece to A happy surprise, but as a seperate one- or twoshot. Anyone?**

**I'm also a bit sad. Over 250 readers and 3 reviews? I mean, come on, lovely people. Tell me what you think and I will squeal with delight. :D I need some love in this freezing snow storm.**

* * *

"Is this Kurt Hummel-Puckerman?" a voice said in the other end of the line when Noah answered the phone one chilly day in October.

"No, this is Noah, his husband. He's not home from work yet. Can I take a message?" he asked. This was probably just another sales-person that wanted them to buy new mobile phones or a shitload of cheap socks.

"Oh, hi, Noah. This is Susan Finch from the social services. We met about a month ago when I did the home-inspection for you to become foster parents…" she said and Noah immediately tensed. Was this it? Was there a child out there that needed their help? It had to be that, because they couldn't have changed their mind about this, right?

"Hello? Mr. Hummel-Puckerman? Are you still there?" The woman's voice snapped Noah back to reality and he cleared his throat and quickly reassured her that he was, indeed, still with her.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something…" she said with a bit of a hesitation.

"Yeah?" Noah said, suddenly curious.

"Yes, it came to my knowledge the other day when I went through your applications that Kurt's papers says that he knows sign language?"

"Yeah, he does. His grandpa was deaf, so he learned it as a kid. And of course his Granny knows it as well. I mean, she lived with the man for almost forty years after all." Noah said confused. "I don't though. And neither do our daughter's."

"I noticed that only Kurt wrote that, but I wanted to talk to you anyway" she said and Noah thought that he heard a disappointment in her voice. There was probably a kid out there that needed that kind of knowledge.

"Why are you asking?" he finally asked, because he was curious after all.

"The thing is that we have a boy that's in desperate need of a family that knows sign language, and they don't exactly grow on trees, you know…" she said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I can imagine…" he sighed just as she did the same. "But, don't you need a place where the whole family knows it? I mean, how are we going to talk to him when Kurt's not at home? He can't be around all the time."

"Of course the ideal scenario would be to place him in a family where everyone knows ASL, but unfortunately that's just not a possibility right now. At this moment, one of you speaking it would be an improvement from what we've got right now" she added and Noah could almost hear how sad she was. "He's a sweet kid" she added and it almost sounded like she just thought it out loud with no intention of actually saying it.

"So, he's deaf?" Noah asked and rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. Why was he even asking questions? It wasn't like they could take him in when only Kurt would be able to talk to him.

"No, he's not. Excuse me; I should've been clearer. He has excellent hearing as a matter of fact, but he doesn't talk so that we can hear it. He communicates with his hands."

"So he's mute?"

"Yes, I guess that you could say that. There's nothing physically wrong with him, but he hasn't said a word since he was born, so…" she said and Noah furrowed his brows in confusion.

"And how old is he?" he asked.

"He turned five in August" she answered and Noah inhaled. He was the same age as Alice and Noah knew exactly how sensitive kids that age could be. And then there was the fact that they always seemed to have so much to tell. Alice talked all the time; from the moment she woke up 'til she fell asleep and she always wanted their full attention when she told them about her day.

"What's his story?" he asked. "I mean, why does he need a foster family?"

"I can't tell you much over the phone, Noah, but let's just say that he lost his father in March and his mother got custody even though they had barely met since his parents divorced when he was one year old" she said and Noah wondered why he wasn't still with his mother. As if sensing his questions, she added "Let's just say that it didn't work out as we had hoped."

Noah felt a lump form in his throat as she said that, because it didn't sound good _at all._

"We moved him from her house two months ago, and we haven't been able to find a family that knows sign language yet."

"He's been living with people that don't understand him for two months?" Noah was shocked and honestly quite pissed off. Did stuff like that actually happen?

"I'm sad to say so, but yes" Mrs. Finch said and sounded like she was ashamed. "We didn't have a choice. At least he's safe and taken care of, and we have an interpreter over there almost every day" she said quietly. It was obvious that she wanted to find a better solution as quick as possible.

Noah didn't say anything, but he balled his hands into fists and huffed when she said 'almost every day' like it was good enough.

"Will you please talk to your husband and call me back as soon as possible? I could probably offer you an interpreter for the first time, but unfortunately not for full days. They're quite few of them and they're usually very busy."

"Yeah, I'll talk to Kurt, but I don't know about this, to be honest" he said and rubbed his neck. "Thank you for calling though, Mrs. Finch" he added and hung up, still shaken to his core. He knew that he wouldn't be able to shake off the image of a small lonely boy placed in a house where no one understood him anytime soon.

* * *

Kurt walked in with the girls in tow half an hour later and it was like Noah couldn't keep his eyes off his oldest daughter as she went on and on about how Patrick in her class had fallen down from a tree on the schoolyard and how she had painted a pink elephant to Maya and how she almost didn't get any meatballs for lunch because apparently Lucas 'ate like hundreds of them'!

Kurt laughed as she talked and Maya watched her sister and started to tell them about how she and some other kids had built a fort out of pillows and empty cardboard boxes at daycare. It was 'as big as a real house' she told them with wide eyes and arms raised up towards the ceiling to show them just how big it was.

The girls eventually disappeared into Alice' room and Kurt sat down in front of his husband at the kitchen table. He looked like his mind were elsewhere and Kurt watched him in silence for a minute before clearing his throat to bring him back to reality.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he said with a soft smile.

"Oh…sorry…I just…" Noah said but immediately realized that he had no idea where to begin. He let his right hand rub the back of his neck and sighed.

"I got a call today…" he tried again and Kurt lifted his eyebrows in question. "It was that lady that did the home-inspection last month" he added and Kurt's reaction was immediate.

"What? Why didn't you say that the moment I walked in? That's huge, Noah! What was it about? Do they need our help?" he rambled and stood up to pace the floor in front of the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, but I don't know about this" he said and sighed as Kurt looked confused. "Will you sit down?"

Kurt nodded and gently sat back down, biting his lower lip and tapping his fingers against the table.

"They only called us because they need someone that knows sign language…" he finally said and saw Kurt's eyes grow wide with surprise. This wasn't something that he had expected when he wrote it down on the form. He just wanted to brag a little because he actually thought that it was a bit cool that he knew how to use ASL.

"Oh…" he said and the kitchen fell silent as they both tried to take this in. "But…I'm the only one that can…"

"Yeah, they know, but they had to ask. Apparently they didn't have any other options" Noah explained and saw his husband nod his head like he understood.

"What did you say? I mean, when do we have to decide?"

"I didn't say anything. I told her that I didn't know and she asked me to talk to you and get back to her as soon as possible. They need to find him a better home real soon" he said.

"It's a boy?" Kurt said quietly with longing in his eyes.

"Yeah. Apparently he lives with a family now that doesn't understand him" Noah added and Kurt narrowed his eyes in confusion and worry.

"WHAT? They actually placed him in a home where no one signs? That is complete and utter idiocy!" he squealed and Noah nodded in agreement. He knew that Kurt would jump right into this, but he himself wasn't that sure about this. Sure, he felt bad for the kid, and he really wanted to help him, but having a child in your home meant huge responsibility, and if he didn't understand him, then how would he know what he needed? "How old is he?"

"Five" Noah whispered and watched Kurt stand up and starting to pace again, but now he rubbed his face as well. This was not a good sign.

"He can hear though, so at least he understands them" Noah said to calm him down, and they talked a bit about what Mrs. Finch had told Noah about the boy. When all the information had been given to Kurt they both fell silent, their minds reeling with thoughts and possible solutions.

"I don't know if we can do this" Noah said in the exact same second as Kurt said "We have to help him."

Both of them fell silent again as they watched each other's expressions. Kurt looked at Noah and saw sadness and a huge will to help, but at the same time he saw worry and an uncertainty that came from a fear of not being able to give the boy what he needed.

Noah looked at his husband and saw determination, a huge loving heart and a stubbornness that he knew would be hard to talk out of this. The decision would have to wait though because the girls were suddenly running into the kitchen screaming about food and they noticed surprised that it was way past dinner time.

They wipped up some pasta and tomato sauce and quickly sat down to eat. The rest of the night passed with bath time, reading goodnight-stories and washing up after dinner.

"I have to go to New York this weekend" Kurt said as they stood next to each other in the kitchen washing up.

"What?" Noah said surprised. It was Tuesday and why hadn't Kurt told him earlier?

"I found out today and planned on telling you as soon as I got home, but…yeah…" Kurt answered and lowered his head. He had of course known that this would be a big thing to drop three days before the trip, but he really, really wanted to go. "There's this big Vogue conference thing going on, and they invited me along to talk about my blog and everything. They're apparently very impressed with my work!" he explained and now Noah could see the excitement in his eyes as they sparkled and lit up his face along with his smile.

Kurt had been working at Vogue for almost four years now and the fashion blog that started it all had grown into a huge thing. He now had three people helping him to run it and other computer geeks that helped with layout and technical stuff. The blog was a hit and the best part was that Kurt could mostly work from home. They had provided him with an office in Lima anyway and he got almost daily packages with things that they wanted him to blog about. He arranged the pieces, photographed it and told people how to wear it. Those posts were mixed with new trends, accessories and good tips to become fashionable and he loved every second of it.

"They asked you the same week as the conference? Isn't that weird? I mean, not everyone can drop everything and just go" Noah said and knew that he sounded harsh but couldn't help it. Kurt being away wasn't his favorite choice in the world.

"Actually, I'm kind of a second choice because Neil had to cancel, but who cares? I get to go!" Kurt squealed with happiness and Noah swallowed his irritation and hugged him close to his chest.

"I'm happy for you, honey" he managed to whisper while he pulled him just a tiny bit closer and inhaled his familiar scent. "When do you leave?"

"Friday morning, so I'll be okay with dropping the girls off since it's my turn, but you have to pick them up. I'll be home at Sunday afternoon."

"Oh, okay" Noah said, but all he could think was three days without Kurt. Of course they had been away from each other before during their nine years together, but it was always boring and awful.

Kurt leaned back so that he could watch his husbands face. "It will be fine, sweetie. I know you can do it. It's just a weekend" he said before pressing a soft kiss onto his lips. "And we can Skype. They actually have internet in New York as well!"

"No way?" Noah said and widened his eyes while pretending to be shocked. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know that it's hard to believe, but they do have it" Kurt said and smiled big before leaning in again and deepening the kiss until Noah licked his way into Kurt's mouth and let their tongues play lazily with each other.

* * *

"Don't forget to say an extra goodbye to Dad now, girls!" Noah said as everyone but he was on their way out of the house on Friday morning. "You won't see him until Sunday, remember?" he added and adjusted the red backpack on Maya's back before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss onto her head.

"We know, Daddy. You told us a _million _times!" Alice said and gave him a glare that clearly said 'We're not stupid!' and made him smile and roll his eyes. Clearly five year olds were experts at exaggerating.

"Alice…" Kurt warned but couldn't hide his smile. "I told you to be good for Daddy this weekend, and it starts now" he said and watched her nod.

"I don't get a goodbye kiss?" Noah asked with a pout that made Kurt snort.

"Oh, I thought the fourteenth hundred you already got this morning would be enough" he smirked and stepped closer to kiss his husband again. "Silly me" he added between kisses and Noah chuckled.

"Yeah…mmm…silly you. You should know by now that I can never get enough of you and your kisses" he said and went quiet as he pulled Kurt in for a long and firm hug that made all silliness disappear. They both knew that they would miss each other and that it was totally okay.

"Think about that boy, okay?" Kurt added when Noah finally let him go. "And we'll talk when I get back."

Noah just nodded. He had thought a lot during the past days, and they had talked about it as well, but a decision had not yet been made. Kurt was on board already and really wanted to do this, but Noah was a bit more hesitant due to the fact that he didn't know one single word in sign language. The more he thought about it during the day, a plan started to take form.

He thought about it while managing the music store for Blaine that day and he thought about it while teaching a young boy how to hold a guitar properly that afternoon. He tried to picture the boy and played with hair colors, length and eyes. A million names traveled through his head as he wondered what he was called. No one had told them that yet, and they wouldn't get to know it until if they decided to do this.

Blaine's store was doing quite well and he had given Noah a part-time job managing it. One night years ago they had been drinking a few beers too much and Noah had spilled his dreams about teaching music and writing songs to a surprised Blaine. It had led to Blaine taking a few days off every week and hand the rest of the hours in the store to Noah. Last year they had decided to start giving private lessons in the store and Noah toughed guitar and violin as Blaine covered piano, vocals sometimes a little guitar as well.

The lessons had been a success from the beginning and now they had young boys and girls there almost every day to learn how to play an instrument. Noah learned that this was exactly what he always wanted, and when he saw the happiness in a kid's eyes as he or she nailed it, he loved his job.

He had already started to give Alice some guitar lessons, and Maya came in every now and then to play piano with Blaine. Noah almost laughed as he saw Alice' patience run out after just ten minutes while Maya could sit there all day if they would let her. It was just like when his grandpa had wanted to teach Rachel how to play the violin when they were kids. She had absolutely no patience for instruments. Singing was her only interest, and Alice seemed to follow in her footsteps. Blaine decided to give her some vocal lessons when she got tired of the guitar and it turned out that she was quite good at holding a tune.

The lessons paid quite well, but sometimes it wasn't enough, and that's where Burt came into the picture.

He had moved his shop to Lima two years ago with the excuse that he missed his son and grandkids. They all knew though that the real reason was Carol's sister Maggie that he started to date after Kurt's and Noah's wedding. They had now bought a house together in Lima and Kurt loved Maggie and the fact that his father was no longer alone all the time. Now Kurt and Noah worked in his shop when they needed some extra money and Burt happily took some time off whenever they came in. It worked for everyone.

That Friday evening, Noah called Kurt's Granny and asked if he and the girls could come over the next day. He didn't tell her the real reason and instead said that the girls missed her, which they did, so it wasn't a lie.

* * *

"Why are we going to Granny without Dad?" Alice asked as they sat in the car on their way to her place that Saturday morning. She had told them to arrive early and she would cook them brunch as she used to do for Kurt when he was a kid.

"Because Dad's in New York. You know that" Noah answered but understood the question. It was always Kurt that took initiative to go there, just as Noah was the one to plan their visits to his Nana's.

"Duuh, I know! But we never go without him" she said and Noah agreed, saying that it was time to change that.

He had spent the night before telling his daughter's about the possibility of a boy coming to live with them and they had actually been excited. The issue with the sign language had been left out, and he now planned on Granny to help him with that. Hopefully she could.

"Hi, girls!" she said as she opened the door and engulfed them in soft hugs and kisses to their cheeks.

"Hi, Granny!" Maya happily said and wrapped her arms around the old woman's legs as she always did. Noah had started to call her Granny as it was too confusing to call her by her real name; which was also Alice, and soon the kids had followed. Now they all called her Granny, and it seemed to be okay.

She had filled the table with blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, freshly baked bread and orange juice, and as they all sat down to eat she eyes them curiously.

"So, is there a reason why you're here all alone?"

"See? I told Daddy that we never go here without Dad!" Alice said immediately and Noah sighed with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, Alice. You're right, okay?" he chuckled and saw her smile proudly. "I actually brought us here to ask Granny for some help."

"What?" All three asked in confusion and curiosity.

"I want you to teach us sign language" Noah said and she said 'Oh' as the girl's started to ask what it was.

"Is there any particular reason for this, Noah?"

"Yes, there is, actually. Kurt and I have signed up as foster parents, and there's a boy the same age as you, Alice, that needs a home, and he can't talk, so…"

"Why can't he talk, Daddy?" Maya asked confused and everyone else seemed to think the same thing, so Noah told them what he knew, which wasn't very much at all.

"So he signs?" Granny asked and Noah nodded. "And you want me to teach you?" she asked as to clarify.

"Yeah, that would be great. Just some basics for now though. You know…words that kids use…you know, to communicate?" he tried to explain, but now it just sounded stupid.

"Like what exactly?"

"Like…I don't know…food, eat, sleep, toilet, warm, cold, milk…I don't know. Just…basics!" he said frustrated. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. It was stupid to think that you could learn enough of a new language to understand a kid in just one afternoon, and he knew that, but still… everything was better than nothing, right?

"Or 'cookie'!" Alice screamed and they all laughed.

"Yeah, or cookie" Noah agreed and watched the woman smile.

"Why didn't you ask Kurt to teach you?" she asked and Noah shook his head.

"I don't know. I guess I just needed to think about this, and then I just decided yesterday to at least give it a try." He shrugged and took a deep breath. "So, are you girls ready for your first lesson?" he asked and they began.

"So, this is how you say 'food'" Granny said and put her hand together and tapped all her fingertips against her lips. "But it can also mean 'eat'" she explained and they all mimicked her motions.

"Like this?" Alice said and did exactly right the very first time. Maya followed her lead like a shadow and Noah smiled as Granny told them how good they were.

The next three hours they leaned a bunch of words that seemed to be useful. Alice and Maya came up with new words every other minute and the adults shook their heads at the kid's logic on what was important to learn.

"Just sign at the same time as you speak" she said later. "It helps you to understand how to use them properly and it will be as natural as anything else" she explained and Noah doubted that. It seemed harder than he had thought, but at the same time it was sometimes very logic. You could almost guess what some signs meant even if you didn't know. The girls ran around the apartment and shouted "How do you say dog?" or "How about cake?" until Noah sensed that the old lady had had enough for today.

"We can come back some other day, girls" he said and helped them with their shoes and jackets. "And you can always ask Dad when he gets home."

"Dad knows this?" Maya asked in awe and Noah nodded and smiled as she squealed in delight. Apparently this was the funniest thing ever right now and he was feeling a lot calmer now than he did before. Maybe they could do this?

* * *

That evening they Skyped with Kurt in New York and Noah didn't even have time to say "Hi" before the girls took over; eager to show their dad what they learned.

"And this is how you say 'cat', Dad!" Alice explained and used her thumbs and index fingers to stroke an imaginary pair of whiskers at either side of the face while Kurt watched with wide eyes.

"That was really good, Alice!" he said and Noah could see him blink away a few tears. "How about you, Maya? Did you learn anything?" he asked the smaller girl that immediately nodded eagerly.

"Do you know this?" she asked and leaned her cheek into her upturned palm while tilting her head slightly to one side.

Kurt smiled. "Oh, are you sleepy, honey?" he teased and she giggled happily and shook her head as he guessed right. They went on for a while and then Kurt told them that he wanted to talk to their Daddy alone for a second. Just as they were about to walk away he stopped them.

"Watch this, because I want you all to remember it forever and ever" he said with a soft smile. Then he put up his hand with his palm facing them and pulled his middle finger and ring finger down so that the other three were the only ones standing up. Then he smiled and said "I love you".

"Is that 'I love you'?" Noah asked confused. "It makes no sense at all."

"Yes, it does. It's a mix of letters and signs. It's perfect."

"It looks like some sort of heavy metal-sign" Noah chuckled but tried anyways. The girls giggled and ran away after showing it to Kurt and shouting "Love you too, Dad!"

"So, does this mean that you've changed your mind?" Kurt asked and bit his lip.

"Yeah, maybe. I want to think for a few more days to be completely sure, but yeah…I think I want to try."

Kurt squealed and clasped his hand over his mouth before leaning forward to kiss the screen.

"I love you" Noah mouthed and raised his hand to sign it as well. "Even though it looks like I should wear leather and eyeliner while I sign it" he added with a chuckle.

"I love you too, honey. Check the internet and see if you can come up with something that you can show me when I get home…and when in say that I mean in private" Kurt said seductively and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, I think that my hands already know how to tell you those words, babe" Noah bit back and smiled as he once again managed to get his husband to blush. "I'll see you on Sunday."

* * *

**So, this was chapter two! In the next one you'll meet... (I won't tell you his name yet). Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi, there everyone! I just wanted to thank you for your reviews and support. And thanks to every single person who followed or favorited this story. I really love this story, and parts of future chapters have already been written. Also, there will be a Sam/Blaine fic, but I won't promise you when this will happen. Now, here's chapter three. Enjoy!**

* * *

Kurt came home late on Sunday evening when the girls were already in bed. The plane had been delayed thanks to a storm and he sighed with relief as he opened the door to their house after hours of hanging around at the airport in New York. Even though it had been boring as hell, he had gotten a lot of time to think about this foster parent-thing and he took the time to freshen up his signing skills. He did it in his mind though, because sitting in an airport signing to yourself was not exactly what people thought was normal.

He smiled at himself as he noticed that most of it was still in his head, and his hands itched to try the words out. He had actually missed it. It was something so cool with ASL. You could always see what people meant, as most of them had a strong body language as well. They seemed to sign with their whole body and not just their hands.

Seeing Noah and the girls use it had been amazing. Just the thought of Noah taking the initiative made Kurt so happy that he wanted to squeal and jump up and down. Alice had called him again last night and told him that she forgot to ask how to say 'Goodnight' and he had videotaped himself with his phone and sent it to Noah so that he could show her. It made his heart swell with love.

Kurt walked into their house and stood in the doorway for a second, amazed by how quiet it was. Of course he knew that the girls were asleep, but he and Noah often took this time to wash up in the kitchen or something like that before going to bed. As he peaked into the living room he got his answer.

Noah was out cold on the couch and the television was switched off. The room was dark and he had curled up on his left side under a blanket, one hand resting under his cheek. Kurt tip-toed into the room and sat down on the edge of the coffee table right in front of his sleeping husband.

For a moment he just watched him. He let his eyes travel over the short hair that had grown a bit longer and now was beginning to curl and the dark eyebrows that were completely relaxed. He took in the almost black eyelashes that rested on his cheeks and the smooth lips that he loved so much. Dark stubble covered his defined jawline and Kurt leaned down to press a soft kiss onto it. Noah moved when he felt the contact and Kurt pressed another kiss onto his lips. Eyelids started to flutter and soon Noah was opening his eyes to see what woke him up. The smile was immediate and Kurt's stomach fluttered with love.

"Hi" he whispered and let a soft hand travel over Noah's hair, smiling at the familiar feeling of it tickling his palm.

"Hi" Noah whispered back, his voice husky from sleeping. "I'm glad you're home."

"Me, too. New York was great and all, but I really missed you guys" Kurt said and leaned down to hug him. Noah silently shuffled back on the couch and pulled Kurt down in front of him, so that he was spooning him. "Honey, maybe we should go to bed. I'm really tired" Kurt protested but relaxed anyways as Noah pressed his soft lips against his neck and breathed him in.

"I really missed you this weekend" he whispered honestly and Kurt smiled and pressed his body back against the muscular body behind him. They stayed there for almost half an hour in silence, just enjoying each other's presence before moving to bed.

* * *

"Are we really gonna do this?" Kurt asked as they sat down to eat dinner on Thursday night. They had talked and talked about taking that little boy in and even though every discussion led to a 'yes' they were still not completely one hundred percent sure. It was a huge decision to take.

Maya and Alice had been squealing out their agreement when they got the question, eager to meet the boy and show him all the signs they had learned. Every day, new signs were taught to them and they swallowed it with an eagerness that made their fathers speechless.

A trip to the local library had given them some books and a DVD that the girls never seemed to get enough of. It was a colorful and overly enthusiastic woman that signed and sang familiar songs for children and by now the whole Hummel-Puckerman family knew how to sign at least parts of the songs.

"Yes, I think we are" Noah answered and smiled. The thought of it made his stomach flutter and even though it scared the shit out of him, it was also something that he knew he wanted.

"Okay, let's call them first thing tomorrow morning" Kurt declared and scoped up some mashed potatoes onto Maya's plate and pulled the sleeves of her shirt up higher on her arms.

"When is he coming?" Alice asked with a whine. She was the most impatient of the four and she asked this question at least five times a day.

Kurt told her again that they didn't know, but that it probably would be soon.

"What's his name, Daddy?" Maya asked next and turned to Noah as she always did. Even though she looked exactly like Kurt, except from her brown eyes, she and Noah had a bond that no one really could understand. She always turned to him before Kurt.

"We _still_ don't know that, sweetie" Noah answered with a sigh and a smile. This was another question that came up _a lot_. "But I promise to tell you as soon as we find out."

The thing was that he was just as eager as the kids to find out. Mrs. Finch had told them that due to the rules of secrecy she couldn't tell them until they had decided to take him in.

"I hope it's something pretty" Alice said and stared into open space as she let her fork make patterns in the mashed potatoes on her plate. They could almost hear her thinking.

"I bet it is" Kurt smiled and stroked a loose curl away from her forehead. "Now will you please eat?"

* * *

Kurt called the social services the next morning and because this was a prioritized case they was asked to come in the same afternoon to go through some important things. They accepted immediately, eager to learn more about the boy that would possibly be their foster child.

Noah's heart beat so fast that he thought it would pop out of his chest as they walked into the office later that day. They had dropped the girls off at Burt and Maggie's house and quickly told them what was probably about to happen. Not much had been said about this before and Burt just nodded and told them that he was proud of them. The girls had squealed with happiness when they realized that Burt knew ASL as well, even though he didn't remember as much as Kurt.

Now, they walked into the office where they would make the final decision. Noah knew that he probably held Kurt's hand way too hard but he couldn't make himself care about that right now. Suddenly doubts started to fill his head. Were they really doing the right thing here? Would they be able to give this kid the home he needed or would it be a complete failure? They knew nothing about him. Absolutely nothing. Who knew what that boy had been through since he lost his father?

Susan Finch greeted them with a warm smile as they all sat down in her office and Noah immediately started to squirm in his seat. A soft hand gently placed itself on his thigh and he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He sighed and looked around.

They were seated in two uncomfortable chairs in front of a large wooden desk, behind which Susan Finch sat. The walls were covered with large oil paintings that looked like they had been painted by a three year old. Bookshelves covered one of the walls and all the books seemed to be about laws and family justice. It looked like a typical boring office, except from a picture frame on the desk. It showed two smiling boys under a huge oak tree. They smiled big and showed the gap from their missing front teeth.

"That's my boys."

Susan's voice broke the silence and Noah forced his attention back to her. She was wearing a green blouse that Noah guessed that Kurt despised and her brown hair fell in a quite boring flat bob around her face. She looked like a mother that had no time for herself and Noah knew that problem all too well.

"They're beautiful" Kurt said as Noah remained silent. He hadn't been as sure about this as his husband but he knew that they had made the right decision.

"Thank you" she said and shuffled some papers around on her desk and stacked them in a neat pile at the center. "So, I understand from your call that you want to know more about this boy, am I right?" she said and they both nodded.

Kurt's hand still rested on Noah's thigh but now Noah took it in a firm grip; feeling the need for something to hold on to.

"Yes, that's exactly what we want" Kurt answered once again and Noah suddenly felt insecure as he watched them talk.

"There's some things that you should know about his history, and then you can meet him later today if you're up for it" she said and Kurt's hand tightened around Noah's as they froze for a second.

"Today?" Noah managed to say and was met by a nod.

"Yes. If that's okay with you, of course. We're eager to solve this problem, and I would be happy to place him in your care as soon as possible" she explained and smiled. "But I understand if it's too soon for you."

Noah met his husband's eyes for a second and the determination that he saw in Kurt's eyes made him nod.

"No… I mean, yeah…okay…"

"So, his name's…"

"NO!" Kurt shouted and interrupted her. Both Susan and Noah jumped in their chairs and looked at him like he had gone crazy. "No, I don't want you to tell us."

"What?" Noah said and pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. "We've been guessing for a week, and now you don't wanna know?"

"No, of course I want to know, honey, but I want him to be the one to tell us" he said and sighed. "I need to make sure that he knows that we can understand him" Kurt said and bit his lower lip. Noah could see the tears in his eyes and squeezed his hand a bit harder.

"Okay" he said and turned to Mrs. Finch. "Can we just call him 'him' for now?"

She watched them with a fond but confused smile. Obviously this wasn't very usual.

"Okay…so…his father died in March, from an accident at work. Some machine broke and fell over him and he died immediately."

Kurt already wiped away a tear but never took his eyes away from her.

"His parents got a divorce when he was one year old and he never met his mother again until this happened. There were no other relatives and she agreed to take him."

"Wow, what an effort, taking in your own kid" Kurt mumbled but Susan didn't seem to hear him, or she just ignored it.

"He was her son after all, but as she realized that he couldn't talk something changed…"

"But he was still her son!" Kurt interrupted. He knew that this story would probably turn ugly and Noah squeezed his hand to calm him down.

"Yes, he was, but unfortunately not all parents think like that. You would be surprised" she said sadly. "She didn't speak ASL so we got them an interpreter and offered her some classes. It got a bit better after that."

"But not_ good_…?" Kurt said and she shook her head. There was a reason to why they were here today after all.

"Sadly, no."

"What did she do to him?" Noah asked but he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, it was mostly what she didn't do that was the problem" Susan said and took a deep breath. "It turned out that she had some problem with alcohol, and she 'forgot' to give him food or buy him new clothes when he needed it. I don't think she gave him much attention at all, to be fair. He's quite shy and never makes the first move, so to speak. So if you ignore him, he'll hide."

"And that's what he did? For five months?" Kurt was starting to get angry now, and Noah gently held him back with an arm around his back.

"Umm…yes. Look, I should have noticed, I know, but our hands are tight and we don't get enough time to meet those children. I feel awful, but every time I got there it seemed okay."

Noah watched the woman before them. She looked terrible sorry and like she was about to cry.

"What happened?" he asked and she told him about how the boy had fallen out of a tree in the park and it came to their attention that his mother had forgotten to pick him up.

"He was underweight and behaved like an abused child when he came to the hospital after that fall, and the doctor called us" she explained and sighed. "The mother's problem with drinking came into the light and she temporarily lost custody while taking care of her problems. He ended up in a foster family that knew no signing at all, but at least he's taken care of."

"You don't know that" Kurt scoffed and Susan went quiet. "If no one understands what he's saying, then how can you possibly tell us that he's taken care of? What if he needs to tell you something important, like if he feels sick or if he has a nightmare? How are they supposed to help him if they don't know what the problem is?"

"There's an interpreter there during the days" Susan explained, but Noah could see that she knew that it wasn't good enough.

"So if something happens at night, you're expecting a five year old to hold it in until the next time some woman gets there to translate? I'm sorry, but that's insane!"

"Kurt…" Noah said and stroked his back, but Kurt just shrugged him off.

"We want to see him. Now. I can't stand to have him stay there any longer."

"You're absolutely right, Kurt" she said and smiled. "That's what I want to hear. I know that this is indeed insane, but I didn't have a choice at that point."

"I know…" Kurt whispered and wiped his cheeks where a few tears had fallen. "When can we meet him?"

"Let me just make a call, and I'll be able to tell you. Maybe you could get yourselves some coffee in the waiting room?" she suggested and that was their cue to leave the room.

* * *

"Kurt…please, breathe…" Noah said as he sat down beside his husband on a hard plastic chair in the waiting area. Kurt had been furious when they walked out of the office and now he was freaking out over the fact that they would meet this boy in just a few minutes.

Susan had told them that the foster mother was on her way with him right now, and all of Kurt's worries had now floated up to the surface. Now Noah was the calm one, which was freaking him out and he slowly rubbed soothing circles over his husband's back as he told him to inhale and exhale.

"Kurt!" he finally yelled when nothing else seemed to work. "You have to get a hold of yourself. You can't meet a kid like this. You'll scare him!"

That was what finally got Kurt to pull himself together. He sat up straight and wiped his face on his sleeve as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. His hands lay on his knees and he bit his lower lip like he always did when he was nervous.

"I'm sorry" he whispered and Noah nodded and stroked his back a final time before pulling him into his side and pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

"I know, honey. Just remember to breathe, okay?"

"I will. I just got so angry! I mean, how can they do this to a scared and lonely five year old? What if it was Alice? Can you imagine her not being understood? She has so much to tell. It just makes me…" he inhaled and shook his head before letting it drop onto Noah's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. I feel the exact same thing. Hearing her say that just made me surer about doing this" Noah said and they went quiet.

Suddenly a door opened behind them and they both turned their heads to see a middle-aged blonde woman walking in with a small dark-haired boy in tow. He looked scared and shy and Kurt inhaled sharply as he saw him. It felt like the world moved in slow motion as they watched the boy walk past them; his large eyes drinking everything in.

The woman seemed to know exactly where she was going, because she walked straight up to Susan's office and knocked on the door three times and then stood back to wait. Kurt was just about to point out that she seemed to take no notice of the boy next to her when she turned around and bent down to run a hand lovingly over his hair.

"Are you nervous?" she asked with a calm smile, and the boy raised his hands to sign something, but then it looked like he remembered that she wouldn't understand, and his arms fell to his sides as he nodded. "No need to be, sweetie" she smiled and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sure they're nice people."

Kurt and Noah held their breaths as they watched the interaction with wide eyes. Two things happened at the same time then. Susan opened the door and the woman with the boy raised her head and met Noah's eyes.

"Hello!" Susan said and Kurt smiled. Noah however said nothing. He watched the woman calmly and smiled back when she did. "I'm so glad you're here!" Susan continued and ushered them all into the office.

"Hi, I'm Joanne Willows" the woman said as she shook both of their hands but she couldn't quite get their attention. Their eyes were on the boy that was now hidden behind the large desk so that only his black curly head was seen.

Kurt smiled as he watched the unruly curls, thinking that this could be Noah's kid without doubt. His skin was a bit darker though, like a light brown color and his eyes were so dark that they were almost black. They seemed to be too big for his small face and his too thin body. That was what worried Noah the most. Alice and Maya had healthy round cheeks and still a bit of baby fat around their bellies, but this kid had none of that.

Kurt watched the shy boy and remembered something he read in a book once about going down to the child's eye-level. He dropped onto his knees on the floor, facing the hidden boy behind the desk and smiled a soft smile while all the others watched him closely.

"Hi, my name's Kurt" he said and the boy's head moved so that he could peak around the corner. It disappeared just as fast though, but Kurt didn't care. "And that's my husband Noah" he said and pointed towards Noah even though the boy didn't watch him do it. "What's your name?"

The head ducked down all the way now so that they couldn't see it at all and they waited. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and nobody moved an inch.

"Can you tell me your name?" Kurt asked again, and this time the boy lifted his head up to shake it quickly and then it disappeared again just as fast. But during that single second his eyes met Kurt's and Kurt could see the fear and sadness that filled them. He cursed himself for being so damn stupid. When he had talked to his grandfather they had always referred to it as 'talking' even though they signed. Maybe this boy thought that Kurt tried to get him to speak?

"Will you sign it for me?" he tried again and this time they could hear the boy moving behind the desk. Then one thin arm shot out from behind the corner and Noah watched stunned as the small hand moved in rapid speed and disappeared again. How was he supposed to understand anything if this was what signing looked like? No one would have a chance to get that.

But then he looked at Kurt, and he had the biggest smile on his face that Noah had seen in weeks. He raised a hand to wipe away what Noah guessed to be a tear, and then his shoulders relaxed.

"Well, hello Milo" he simply said and Noah gasped as the boy suddenly stood right before them with wide eyes and a tiny careful smile on his face.

* * *

**So, Milo's here! I just wanted to answer some questions that I got. Some of you thought that it was a bold move to make the kid mute, but the thing is that I have a nephew just like Milo, just a bit younger. He never says a word, and now we use signs while we talk, and he's picking it up so quickly that it's amazing. Swedish sign language is different from the american though, so if I make some mistake later on, I apologize in advance now. Hope you'll like this because I really love Milo. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi, amazing people! Thank you (a thousand times) for the reviews. It makes me so happy that you took the time to tell me what you thought. Without further ado, here's another chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Noah watched Kurt and Milo in front of him. Kurt was still on his knees on the floor and Milo had gathered the courage to step out from behind the desk. He looked at Kurt with a curious but guarded expression and Noah's heart skipped a beat when those dark eyes slipped from Kurt and met his eyes.

For a second they just watched each other; the man and the small boy that looked so much like him. Noah could see a bit of hesitation in the dark eyes, but also a bit of curiosity that made him feel like this could actually work.

"Hi, Milo, I'm Noah" he finally said and sat down next to Kurt without taking his eyes off the boy. The rest of the people in the room slowly faded out as he tried to focus just on Milo.

Milo raised his right hand as to say 'hello' and Noah mirrored his action with an unsure smile. He wasn't nearly as good at this signing thing as he would've liked, but he would learn.

"I'm not very good at your language" he chuckled nervously and saw a smile appear on Milo's face. "Will you teach me?" he asked and Milo's smile grew bigger. Noah knew that five year olds loved to help, and if they got a chance to outshine their parents, they would probably take it.

"Noah, it's not his job to teach you. We'll help you to attend some classes" Susan said, clearly thinking that he had overstepped some invisible line.

"No, I know it's not, and of course I'll take the classes!" he said immediately. "I just thought that it could be fun…" he continued, a bit unsure now. It had seemed like a great idea in his head, but maybe he was asking the boy for too much.

In the corner of his eye he could see Milo signing something to Kurt that watched him concentrated.

"He says that he really wants to teach you" Kurt said turned to Noah. "Apparently no one has ever asked him that before. They never tried to understand him" he translated with a sad smile. Mrs. Willows looked like she wanted to apologize but in the end, she said nothing. She just squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and avoided their eyes.

"I think it could be fun, right?" Noah said to Milo and he nodded slowly even though his eyes sparkled with excitement. "We'll take one word at the time, when they pop up."

"We have two daughters as well" Kurt said. "Did someone tell you that?" he added and the boy shook his head and suddenly looked shy.

"Alice is the same age as you" Noah explained. "And Maya's a year younger. They're really excited to meet you and Kurt and his Granny has taught us some signs that will hopefully be useful. The girls know a lot more than I, though" he smiled.

Milo turned to Kurt again and signed something that Noah couldn't understand.

"No, there's no mommy, sweetie" Kurt explained and the boy looked confused. "In our family there are two daddies" Kurt added and pointed at Noah and himself. Noah watched as Milo bit his lower lip and tried to process this new weird family constellation. Then he gave a small nod and lowered his eyes as his hands started to move again.

This time Noah could see Kurt's eyes fill up with tears. "I know, sweetie. I'm so sorry" he said; his voice a bit thicker than usual and then he reached out his arms and the small boy took one careful step forward and fell right into them.

Noah watched with confusion as Kurt gently stoked Milo's curls with one hand and then he whispered 'I don't have a dad' over the boy's head and Noah immediately understood that he just translated Milo's words.

He placed one steady hand on the small boy's back and just let it rest there. He didn't want to startle him, but he wanted him to know that he was there for him as well as Kurt.

"We wanted to ask you if you would like to come home and live with us" Kurt finally said and Susan piped in.

"You know that your mother's trying to get better, right Milo?" she said and he nodded. He had taken a step back, but Kurt's arms were still around his waist. One small hand rested on Kurt's right forearm as to tell him to not let go, and Kurt happily did as Milo wished.

"Well, your mother is not quite ready for you to live with her yet, and we thought that it would be good for you to be in a family that knows how to sign" she explained and his eyes traveled to Mrs. Willows.

"I'm not gonna live with her anymore?" he signed to Kurt, looking confused.

"We won't force you to live with us, Milo, but we would really like it if you would" Kurt said and Noah could see that Susan wanted to object. They all knew that Milo didn't exactly have a choice when it came to this, but Kurt refused to force him.

The boy eyed Kurt and Noah carefully. First he let his eyes travel over Kurt's face and then he slowly raised his hand out to touch his scarf. He let it run between his small fingers, clearly enjoying the feeling of the soft fabric against his skin. Kurt found himself holding his breath as the boy investigated his clothes and features. Their eyes met as Milo let his hand fall and turned around to face Noah.

He didn't touch him like he had done with Kurt, but Noah could almost feel his eyes as they traveled over his long-sleeved tee and his dark jeans. They ranked over his arms, hands and up to his face. He avoided eye-contact all the time but slowly took in every detail of this unfamiliar new man.

Noah felt like he was being judged, and in some way he was. He just desperately wanted to pass the test, so when Milo turned back to Kurt and nodded, it felt like he could finally breathe again after an hour without oxygen. He could see Kurt's shoulders relax and a large smile appear on his face.

"Are you okay with living with Kurt and Noah, Milo?" Susan asked the boy and he hesitated just for a second before nodding his head.

"This is gonna be good, sweetie. Don't worry" Kurt reassured him and the others smiled along with him.

The next hour was filled with paper-work and Mrs. Willows went home to gather Milo's things. Then he would come home with them. Just the thought of that made the couple's heads swim with fear and excitement and nervousness.

Noah had stepped out to call Burt and he agreed to bring the girls home later so that they could have a couple of hours alone with Milo when they got home. Burt also promised to prepare Alice and Maya for this new family member so that they wouldn't get a shock when they came home and he was there.

* * *

They drove to their house an hour later; Milo placed in Alice' car seat with his eyes glued to the window, taking in everything that led them to his new home. When they pulled up to the house the car was thick with emotions, both from Milo and the couple in the front seat.

"And this is our house!" Kurt said happily as they parked in the driveway. He had spent the drive telling Milo about their house, his room and the school nearby. He had prepared the boy for the girl's arrival and cursed himself for being so stupid that he placed Milo in the backseat alone. He quickly discovered that he couldn't see Milo, and therefor he couldn't see what he was saying. That was the reason to why Kurt was sitting in an uncomfortable position, half-turned backwards to watch the boy as he answered Kurt's questions. Yeah, you learn from your mistakes, right?

"Come on, Milo" Noah said as he unbuckled the boy from the carseat and helped him climb out. He took out his bags, that were too few to contain everything he needed, and Kurt took the little boy's hand and started walking up to the house.

Noah watched his husband and Milo as they walked in front of him and it felt good but also a bit weird. He didn't know what to do, so he took a firmer hold of the bags and followed them up the steps on the front porch. The feeling of being the third wheel traveled through his head, but he shook it away as it was stupid. Of course Milo would keep himself close to the one who understood him. That was perfectly logical, but still it made Noah's heart clench. He wanted to be the person that Milo would come to if he needed anything, and he swore to himself that he would ace that ASL-class as soon as possible.

"…and this is the kitchen" Noah could hear Kurt say as he dropped the bags on the floor in the hallway. The tour had obviously started already. "Here's the bathroom and over here is your room" he said and opened the white door next to the bathroom. Kurt walked inside but Milo stopped on the threshold. Noah watched him from the kitchen and the nervous look on the boy's face made him step closer.

"Don't you wanna go in?" he asked. Milo turned his head towards him and Noah saw that the huge dark eyes had a hint of fright in them before the boy lowered his head and broke the eye contact. "Come on, I'll hold your hand" Noah offered and held out his left hand towards the boy. He eyed it while biting his lower lip and then he slowly placed his small light-brown hand in Noah's big palm.

The touch sent a jolt of pride through the man's body and he took a step forward and waited for Milo to follow him. Kurt watched them with a small smile as his big husband shone with happiness when their eyes met. Kurt loved seeing Noah like this. He was an absolute dream when it came to kids and Kurt never stopped being surprised at his gentle way and calm appearance.

"This is your room" Kurt explained again and Milo looked up at him with an uncertainty like he couldn't believe what he heard. He tapped his right palm against his chest twice and Noah could understand that even though he had never seen the sign before. _Mine?_

"Yes, it's yours" he confirmed and Milo finally smiled and took a step forward. His eyes traveled over the green walls, the curtains with cars on them and the white bed with matching sheets.

Alice had put one of her stuffed animals, a brown monkey with a huge smile, on the bed earlier and Milo let go of Noah's hand to gently pat its head. He stroke the soft fur a couple of times before looking around him as if searching for something.

"What are you looking for, sweetie?" Kurt asked and Milo crossed his wrists over his chest and signed something that looked like he was clawing his own chest with both of his hands at the same time. Noah looked at Kurt confused.

"Bear? What bear?" Kurt asked and Noah nodded. Yeah, that sign was quite easy actually. Most of this language actually made sense.

Milo signed 'mine' again and Noah understood. He walked out of the room to gather Milo's bags and then he walked back in.

"Is there a bear in here somewhere?" he asked as he opened the first bag and Milo nodded quickly. They pulled out some sets of clothes, a pair of sneakers that were way too cold to wear now and finally something white and furry came into view. Milo quickly pulled it out and tucked it against his chest with a content sign and a smile. It was a quite ragged polar bear and he held it so tight that his knuckles almost turned white.

"That's beautiful, Milo" Kurt said and started to fold his clothes into neat piles in the drawer. Noah emptied the rest of the things from the first bag onto the bed and a picture frame fell out. Milo's reaction was immediate. He dropped the bear on the floor and gripped the frame with sad eyes. It was a picture of an African American man with loving eyes and Milo on his lap. They were both laughing and the love almost radiated out of the picture. The boy looked so happy. His cheeks were round and he had a healthy glow on his skin. It was almost scary how much he had changed since that picture was taken.

"Is that your dad?" Noah asked, even though he could see the answer in their faces. They looked so much alike, and he came to the conclusion that Milo's mother had to be white, because his skin-tone was much lighter than his father's.

Milo tapped the tip of his right index finger against his temple twice and nodded. Kurt mouthed 'Daddy' when he once again saw the confused look on his husbands face. They had all learned that sign, but Noah found that it was difficult to remember what meant what.

Kurt stroked the small back in soothing circles and gestured for Milo to put the frame on the bedside table so that he could see it whenever he wanted.

"Are you hungry?" he asked and Milo nodded. "Yeah? What's your favorite food?"

A huge smile appeared on the boy's face as he closed his fists so that only his pinkie's stood out and connected them in front of his chest. Then he pulled his hands apart while moving them in a spiral motion. It went so quickly that Noah almost didn't have time to see what he did.

"Well, then spaghetti it is" Kurt smiled and walked out of the room. "Will you unpack his things and see if there's anything we need to get?" he asked as he walked out and Noah nodded and did as he was told.

They had eaten dinner in silence but a few signs that Noah actually knew came up. Most of the words that Granny had taught them had to do with food, and now he felt proud when he recognized words like 'bread', 'fork' and 'full'.

* * *

Burt and the girl's arrived half an hour later and Milo took a step back to hide behind Kurt's legs when the door opened.

"Daddy, is he here?" Alice said the second she walked into the house and Noah nodded and pointed towards Kurt where Milo seemed to shrink even more in an attempt to hide from the rather loud girl.

Maya's reaction was quite the opposite as she hid behind her grandpa and said nothing. They knew that she had the tendency to become shy so Noah simply reached out his arms for her and she walked right into them.

"Hi, cutie" Noah whispered into her hair and hugged her closer. The familiar strawberry scent from the girl's baby shampoo filled his nose and he smiled as he kissed her hair. "His name's Milo" he said so that both her and Alice could hear. "And he's just as shy as you are" he added like a whisper in Maya's ear.

"Milo?" Alice said and looked like she tried to decide if it was a good name or not. "That's…weird" she finally stated and nodded. "But I like it."

Kurt chuckled silently as his and Noah's eyes met. This was a girl that didn't even know what 'shy' meant. Especially not when it came to other kids; adults were a whole other thing.

Kurt sat down so that Milo couldn't hide, but the boy immediately hid his face against Kurt's chest. Every once in a while he turned his head and glanced quickly at the girls before hiding again.

"Can you say 'hi', Milo?" Kurt whispered and a small hand waved for a second in Alice' and Maya's direction.

"I didn't hear!" Alice said and Noah tensed.

"Honey, we told you that Milo talk with his hands, remember? That's why we've been learning all those signs" Kurt explained and Alice said 'Oh' when she finally understood the reality of this. This whole signing thing had been kind of rushed and even though they explained it multiple times to the girls, it was another thing to experience it live.

"His hair's almost like mine" Alice stated next and the small boy raised his head and met her eyes for the first time. The time seemed to stop. Dark brown eyes met bright blue ones and they studied each other in silence. Maya was frozen in Noah's lap and her eyes were steady as she watched them. Milo reached up a hand to touch his own curls and then he held out a hand towards Alice. She met her Dad's eyes nervously and stepped forward when he nodded. Now they were so close that they could touch each other, and that was just what Milo did. He slowly raised his hand and patted Alice' curls and she did the same to him. Then Alice giggled, Milo smiled and the ice was broken.

Noah and Kurt watched them with fascination. Kids were so simple sometimes. It didn't require grand gestures to become friends. Sometimes a simple smile and a touch was all it took.

"Look Maya, he has brown eyes like you and curls like me!" Alice squealed happily and Noah gave the smaller girl a little push forward to send her on her way. Alice held out a hand towards her younger sister and Maya slowly approached them, quick to grasp Kurt's outstretched hand for support.

"Why don't you two take Milo and show him your rooms?" Kurt suggested and Alice quickly took Milo's hand and dragged him across the hallway to her room.

"Come on, Maya!" she shouted and Maya seemed to think for a moment before running after them. Soon they could hear their oldest daughter tell the new family member about her Barbie's and coloring books and a million other things that she wanted to show him.

Kurt stood up and held out a hand for Noah to take, and then they just stood there in the hallway, hugging each other tightly while listening to the voices of their daughter's.

"Do you think that she even has time to notice that Milo's not saying anything back?" Kurt chuckled and Noah shook his head. That girl could talk, that was for sure. A few minutes later the three kids came out from Alice' room just to disappear into Maya's. Kurt met Milo's eyes when they appeared in the hallway and he actually smiled. Noah pulled Kurt tighter against his chest and sighed happily while touching his forehead with his lips.

"This will be good" he simply said, and Kurt couldn't do anything but agree.

* * *

"It's bedtime, kids!" Noah said as he popped his head into Maya's room where the three kids sat on the floor with coloring books and what seemed like hundreds of crayons and pencils scattered around them. The room was silent from concentration and every now and then they passed a crayon to someone who needed it. It looked like they had known each other for ever, Noah thought as he watched them. It was way past their regular bedtime, but they had decided to let the kids have some time to get to know each other before going to bed.

"But we're not done" Alice whined as she did every night. She was never 'done' when it came to bedtime and always fought to stay up just a minute longer.

"Then you can continue tomorrow, honey. Now clean up the floor and put everything where it belongs. Then it's time to brush your teeth before story time" he continued and Milo stood up immediately and started to put the pencils beck in their box. "Come on, girls. Help Milo out" Noah said and saw Alice sigh as she closed her book. He shook his head and went to the bathroom to wait for them to arrive.

Milo was the first to arrive and Noah handed him the blue toothbrush that he'd found in the boy's bag. "You need help?" he asked, not sure of how much the boy usually did himself. Milo shook his head and opened his mouth wide before starting to brush his small teeth with huge concentration.

Alice and Maya strolled in a few minutes later and Alice grabbed her red toothbrush as Noah picked up Maya's yellow one to help her out.

Suddenly Alice started to giggle and Noah looked around in confusion. Then he saw her pointing at Milo who had toothpaste dripping down his chin and down onto his shirt. Milo first looked like he thought that she was mocking him, but then she started to laugh louder and spit some of her own toothpaste out as well and he smiled.

"Look, Daddy! We have beards!" she giggled happily and Milo smiled bigger. His chest and shoulders moved like he was laughing out loud, but he was completely silent. Just his breathing was heard.

Something wet met Noah's hand that held Maya's toothbrush and he looked down with a grimace as it was covered with slimy toothpaste. "Maya…" he sighed, but she just laughed.

"Me too. Look, I have a beard too!" she giggled and that's when Kurt decided to walk in.

He stopped in the doorway and just watched the three giggling children covered in white foam. He couldn't hold back his laugh as Maya turned around and placed a messy kiss onto her Daddy's face. Noah pulled back and yelled "Ewww" and that started another attack of laughter.

A soft 'click' was heard and Kurt smiled with his phone in hand. "And that's the best picture of the year" he chuckled and Alice screamed "Let me seeee!" along with her sister.

Eventually they got all four of them clean and dry and put into their pj's.

* * *

"Who's first?" Alice asked confused as they walked out of the bathroom.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"I mean, you're two, and we're three. Who gets their story first?" she asked and the two fathers were met by three pairs of huge pleading eyes waiting for the answer.

"Oh…" Kurt started and met Noah's eyes to get some help. "We didn't think…"

He didn't have time to finish that sentence though, because Noah interrupted him. "From now on, story time is in our bed" he said and the girls cheered and ran into their bedroom. Milo stood still though, not sure about what to do. He looked up at the two men with eyes that told them that he had no idea if he should run after the girls or stay put.

"You wanna hear a story?" Noah asked and kneeled next to the small boy. "Well, come on then" he continued when Milo nodded shyly. He lifted the boy up into his arms and walked after Kurt into their bedroom where Alice and Maya had already taken their places under the covers on Kurt's side of the huge bed.

"What are we reading tonight?" Kurt asked.

"Can I pick one? Pleeease?" Alice said and Kurt looked at Milo.

"Maybe we should let Milo pick one today?" he said but the boy shook his head, probably scared to pick the wrong one. "Okay, you can pick one tomorrow. Go and get one then, Alice" he said and the girl jumped down from the bed with a squeal and disappeared out of the room.

Noah dropped Milo onto the bed and pulled the cover up over him. Then he took his place next to him and waited for Alice to get a book. They had made some room for Kurt in the middle, right between Milo and Maya, so that everyone could see the pictures. A tired silence fell over the bedroom and Noah could feel Milo relax into the bed next to him.

"I found one!" Alice shouted as she ran into the room a minute later with a big book in her hand.

"Good. Which one?" Kurt asked and she handed the book over to him. "Oh, _Where is my sister? _That's a good choice, Alice. We haven't read this one in a while" he said and smiled. Usually they picked the same four or five books over and over again even though they had tons of books and also visited the library at least once a month to get new ones.

The book had very little text but the pictures were amazing. The kids hang all over it while trying to find the missing sister every time Kurt turned the page. Of course the girls knew where she was hidden most of the times, but they actually allowed Milo to search for her every now and then.

When they reached the end Maya was already asleep, resting half on top of Kurt and Milo had his head on Noah's arm. His eyelids started to droop and they all just laid there and let the kids fall asleep.

"We have amazing kids" Kurt whispered when they were all asleep and Noah met his eyes over Milo's head and nodded. He let his hand stroke lovingly over Kurt's cheek and then he gently pulled his arm out from under Milo's head and stood up.

"I'm putting him to bed" he said and gently scoped Milo up into his arms. The boy stirred a bit but stayed asleep. It had been a long day for him after all. Noah carried him into his new bedroom and lowered him onto the bed. He made sure that the polar bear and the monkey was next to him before pulling the covers up to his chin and stroking a loose curl away from his face.

"Good night, Milo" he whispered, turned on the night lamp and walked out without shutting the door. He never got a chance to ask him how he wanted it, but he guessed that open was better than closed.

When he returned to the bedroom Kurt was the only one there.

"Is he asleep?" he asked and Noah nodded. "Good, the girls are as well. Now come here, I wanna cuddle" he said with a happy pout and Noah quickly climbed under the covers and cuddled close to his husband.

"You're amazing" Noah whispered and nuzzled into Kurt's neck while holding him tight around his waist. His hands had sneaked in under Kurt's pajama top and he gently moved his fingertips over the soft skin that covered his ribs. He felt goose bumps appear and smiled. Kurt was tickly there but Noah knew just how to touch him without it being too much.

"So are you, honey" Kurt answered and sighed happily as he felt the slightly calloused hands caress his skin. "I loved seeing you with Milo today. You were so calm and gentle."

"Yeah, that kid does something to my daddy-heart. I can't help it, I just feel that I need to take care of him, you know…"

"Yes, I know" Kurt said and turned around to place a long but very light kiss onto his husband's lips. "I love you" he whispered and cuddled closer to the warm muscular body.

"I love you, too. Sleep tight, honey."

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? Please tell me!**

**Also, I'm a bit of a children's-books-nerd, and this time Kurt read _Where is my sister?_ by the swedish author and amazing illustrator Sven Nordqvist. You should look it up, it's absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and hilarious.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi, everyone! Here's chapter five. It almost wrote itself. At least that's what it felt like. I have a coupe of days off now and I will probably update soon again. I wanted the Christmas chapter to come out around Christmas, but I don't think I will be able to manage that. And a huge thank you to all of you that took your time to review. It makes me smile bigger than ever. Anyways... enjoy!**

* * *

"Kurt?" Noah said quietly as he opened their bedroom door. He never knew if he was in the middle of some video conference or on the phone, so he tried to be discreet.

"Yes?" Kurt answered and looked away from his computer. "What is it?"

"Milo's doing some sign that I don't understand, and he can't explain it, so could you help?"

"Yes, of course" Kurt said and stood up. He followed his husband to the kitchen where the kids stood on chairs by the kitchen counter, preparing sandwiches to eat. "Hi" Kurt said and kissed their heads before standing next to Milo. "Will you show me what you've been trying to say?" he asked gently and Milo nodded and put up his hand. His index finger and middle finger stood up like a peace sign.

"That's just a 'K', right?" Kurt said confused and Milo nodded and pointed at Kurt like it was obvious what it meant. "Is that me?" Kurt asked and felt his eyes get misty. It had been almost four weeks since Milo got here but he had never tried to sign their names before. He just pulled their hand or pointed at them when he wanted their attention.

Milo nodded again and pointed at Noah while closing his fist. His thumb was stuck between his middle finger and his ring finger so they could only see the tip of it.

"And that's an 'N' for Noah" Kurt explained and saw Noah smile. Milo looked so proud that they all laughed. Obviously he had finally decided what to call them.

"I never thought of it being that simple" Noah said, a bit ashamed that he hadn't understood. Of course he knew the alphabet. That was the first lesson in the class he attended.

"What's my sign?" Alice asked and Milo made his hand fall from his head in a spiral motion; his index finger pointing up.

"Is that an 'A' for Alice?" she asked and bounced up and down on her chair in excitement.

"No, it's not" Kurt said confused. Then Milo pointed at Alice' hair and he understood what it meant. "I think Milo's sign for you has to do with your curly hair?" he said and Milo nodded as he guessed it right.

"You can just invent a sign?" Noah asked and Kurt nodded.

"Yes, people that use ASL often creates a sign for people so that they don't have to spell out their entire names every time. It's common and totally okay. That's your sign, Alice."

Alice mimicked the sign with a smile. "What's Maya's?"

Milo did another sign where his hand fell from his head again, but this time the line was straighter and longer. Then he pointed at Maya.

"That's because I don't have any curls" Maya said immediately and the two fathers nodded and smiled as she got it so quickly.

"So, you wanted me to get Kurt?" Noah asked after a second of silence. That's what started this after all.

Milo nodded and pointed at the kitchen counter where a messy sandwich lay on a plate.

"That's for me?" Kurt asked and was met by another nod. "Why, thank you, kind sir" he said with a bow and kissed the boy's cheek. They all laughed as they sat down to eat their snack.

* * *

It was three o'clock at night when Noah woke up, desperate to use the bathroom. He sighed before gathering a little strength to stand up and then he silently tiptoed out of the room in just his underwear and a tee without waking his husband.

Kurt needed his sleep. He was working like a lunatic these days, and even though he was at home most of the time, they never saw much of him. He locked himself in their bedroom and had video conferences with his co-workers and bosses at Vogue and just came out to eat or use the bathroom.

Noah attended ASL-classes two times a week, and if Kurt had some important meeting they called Granny that loved spending time with the kids. It was also very convenient that she understood Milo without hesitation. The lady was so happy to have a family again after so many years without Burt and Kurt and she always came to help them if she was free.

Alice was in school during the days but Maya stayed home with Noah and Milo. They had discussed what to do with Milo, because his previous school was too far away and Alice' school didn't have the possibility to get him an interpreter. Susan Finch was on it, though and Noah silently hoped that the problem would be solved quickly.

Not that he didn't like having Milo at home, because he did, but it started to affect his work. Blaine had been forced to hire a new guy to help out, but he still did almost all of the hours in the shop himself. The parents that signed their kids up for lessons started to get irritated as the lessons continued to get cancelled and Noah was painfully aware of it. It was not good.

Kurt had some big thing going on at work that he just couldn't let go of, and Noah secretly hated that Kurt's work seemed to be so much more important than his. Sure, Kurt's job paid most of their bills, but still…

As he walked down the hallway he stuck his head into his daughter's room as he always did when he woke up at night.

Alice was asleep on her stomach as usual with a firm grip on her stuffed dog. She was breathing quietly and Noah stepped inside to pull the covers down over her naked feet. He pressed a soft kiss on her head and closed the door gently behind him before she had the chance to notice that he was there. She was kind of a light sleeper and he often didn't want to touch her with the fear of waking her up. But sometimes, like now, he couldn't stop himself. She was just too cute.

Maya was spread out on her back like a big 'X', her mouth hanging open as she snored quietly. All her stuffed animals were on the floor next to the bed as well as her cover. Noah chuckled at the sight of his youngest daughter. She tossed and turned a lot before falling asleep, but when she did she was out like a light. She slept like a rock and it was almost impossible to wake her in this state. He covered her up as well and kissed her cheek with a smile as she didn't even stir.

He left her door open like she wanted it and walked across the hallway to Milo's room. He could see the soft blue shine from the night lamp through the half-open door and he stuck his head in to make sure that the boy was okay.

The sight that met his eyes was not what he had expected though.

Milo sat up against the headboard with his knees tucked up against his chest and his small arms wrapped around them. His eyes reflected the light and Noah's heart clenched as he took in the scared expression in them.

"Hi, sweetie, why aren't you asleep?" he asked softly as he walked inside. Milo just hid his face against his knees and Noah smiled sadly as he stepped closer. "Did you have a nightmare?"

The boy shook his head but still had his face hidden.

"No? Then what happened?" he asked. When Milo didn't even try to answer, Noah put a finger under his chin and gently lifted the boy's head so that he could see his face. Tear-tracks covered his cheeks and his eyes were red and puffy like he had been crying for a long time. Noah opened his arms and gently wrapped them around the small boy.

"Why didn't you come and get us if you were sad?" he asked. "You know that you can always come and knock on our door, right? We won't get mad" he reassured him, but Milo just hid his face in Noah's chest and stayed there. They had put a bell in Milo's room that he could use if he wanted something, and there was also one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. During the night though they had informed him that knocking on their door would be better if it was possible, so that the girl's didn't wake up.

Noah lifted the boy into his lap and as he connected with his bare thighs he immediately knew what the problem was. The boy's pajama pants were cold and wet and Noah shuddered when he thought about how long Milo had been sitting there in them.

As discreet as he could he reached out a hand and patted the wet mattress and got his suspicions confirmed.

"Come on, buddy, let's get you cleaned up" Noah simply said and stood up with Milo in his arms to walk to the bathroom. "Will you step out of your pajamas?" he said and turned around to get the shower started. Then he ushered the boy inside and gently washed him off while he cried and shuddered.

"It's okay, buddy. I wet my bed too when I was a kid. Everyone does. It's okay, but you have to tell us when it happens. We won't get mad, I promise."

Milo kept his head hanging as Noah turned off the shower and wrapped him in a large soft towel and tucked him against his chest to warm him up. He let his hands rub circles onto the small back and felt Milo start to relax.

"Come on, let's get you some clean clothes" he said and walked back into Milo's bedroom. He pulled out some underwear and stripped the bed from its wet sheets and put them into the washer together with the pajama. Then he started to search through Milo's dresser.

"No clean pajamas?" he said confused and sighed. "Okay, stay here, I'm gonna get you something to wear." He got back in a minute with one of his own black t-shirts and put it over Milo's head. The shirt had been one of Noah's favorites for years and the fabric was so soft that he refused to throw it out, despise Kurt's protests when he wore it.

"Yeah, that fits you perfectly" he smiled and watched the boy. Milo completely disappeared inside the shirt. It almost hit the floor around his feet and the neckline fell down so that one of his thin shoulders was seen. It was adorable.

Milo looked down with a shocked expression, but then he saw Noah's amused face and smiled as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Come on" Noah said and the boy's hand. Let's get you something to drink.

A blanket hung over the kitchen sofa and Noah wrapped it around Milo before lifting the boy up onto the counter next to the stove.

"Sooo, what are you up for?" he asked and mentally slapped himself that he saw that he had trapped Milo's hands in the blanket. "Oh, sorry, here, let me help…" he said and gently loosened the blanket so that Milo could get his hands out.

Milo did a sign that looked like he was milking a cow, and Noah smiled.

"I know that one" he said proudly and opened the fridge to get the milk. "Warm or cold?" he asked next and Milo opened his hand and let it travel from one side to the other in front of his mouth.

"Warm it is" Noah smiled and watched the happy expression on the small boy's face as Noah understood him. He silently promised himself to learn as much as he could as fast as possible because that expression was the best ever. He heated the milk up and poured it into two cups before placing them on the table. He lifted Milo down onto one of the chairs and sat down across from him.

They sipped their milk in silence and soon Milo's eyes started to droop and it looked like he would fall asleep on the table, so Noah scoped him up in his arms and walked back towards the bedrooms. He quickly made the decision that Milo's wet mattress wasn't an option.

"You can sleep in here with us tonight, okay?" he whispered as he lowered the small boy onto the bed next to Kurt's sleeping form. Milo barely nodded, already half asleep. He climbed in on Milo's other side and made sure that the boy was asleep before he let himself relax. He soon fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Kurt woke up the next morning with a rather strange feeling of being too hot and tied down. He was too tired to think rational thoughts and it never occurred to him to open his eyes. He was on his back and something warm was pressed against his right side. Something was draped over his chest and the warmth continued all the way down along his right thigh. It was too small and light to be Noah, but the girls never came into their room at night, and if they did he usually woke up.

He suddenly realized that he couldn't feel his right hand and when he tried to wiggle his fingers there was no response. He turned his head and opened one sleepy eye to see what the problem was, and was met by a curly mop of hair resting on his upper arm. _Ah, so that's why the blood's cut off._

He studied Milo for a minute and took in the totally relaxed expression on the small boy's face. This was the first time that he had cuddled close to Kurt at night and he suddenly wondered why the boy was here in the first place. His eyes traveled over the small body and a quick glance at the over-sized shirt made him realize that Noah was involved.

The urge to move his arm started to get too much and Kurt gently slid his arm out from under Milo's head which made the boy wake up. He watched Kurt with sleepy eyes and then they widened in horror as he realized where he was. Kurt immediately saw the fright in the brown eyes and hushed him with a smile.

"Hi there, sleepyhead" he whispered and stroke the boy's arm. "Did you sleep okay?"

Milo pulled back an inch or two and lowered his eyes in what seemed to be shame. Then he shook his head.

"No? Did you have a nightmare?" he asked and Milo shook his head again, more firmly this time. "Okay, well, this is cozy anyways" Kurt continued and pulled the boy back against his side; leaving the questions for later. "It's such a nice surprise to wake up next to you, sweetie."

Milo smiled and relaxed as he allowed himself to cuddle closer to Kurt. This was, indeed, nice and cozy. It was also kind of strange because ever since his dad died, no one had allowed him to cuddle in their bed before. His mother certainly didn't allow it. She simply stated that he had his own bed, and that was that.

In Mrs. Willows foster home there hadn't been much cuddle at all. Sure, she had been nice and huggable but he never even got the thought of climbing into her bed. He had a feeling that she wouldn't appreciate it. So this was nice, Milo decided and pressed himself just a tiny bit closer to Kurt.

Milo soon dozed off again and Kurt stayed put until he heard Noah wake up. Their eyes met and Noah immediately smiled as he watched them cuddle.

"What happened?" Kurt whispered and Noah shook his head and whispered 'Later'.

"It's okay, he's asleep again" Kurt said and Noah smiled.

"Well, we kind of had a problem with a wet bed tonight, so…" he began and Kurt nodded as he understood. Milo had been living in their home for four weeks now and this had never happened before. Something else must have happened as well.

"So you put him in your ugly shirt and decided to bring him here?" Kurt asked with a snort that was accompanied by a smile.

"Hey, don't hate the shirt. It's awesome" Noah said and pouted. "He didn't have any clean pajamas, so…" he continued. "And we shared some warm milk, too after he showered."

"You gave a kid that just wet his bed warm milk and then put him in our bed?" Kurt rolled his eyes. That was a stupid idea. Kids that wet their beds should not drink during the night.

"He was cold, okay? And scared and ashamed so I tried to lighten his mood" Noah explained and Kurt nodded.

"You did well" he finally said and stroked the curly mess on Milo's head.

Ten minutes later there were two girls standing in their doorway and Noah waved them inside.

"Daddy, can we have eggs for breakfast?" Alice asked as she skipped inside. They could never understand where all that energy came from so early in the morning.

"Or pancakes, Daddy!" Maya screamed but stopped when she noticed Milo in their bed. "Why's Milo here?" she asked wide-eyed.

"He had a nightmare" Kurt quickly said; not sure if Milo wanted anyone to know about the accident.

"Was it a bad one?" Maya asked and Noah hugged her close.

"A bit, but he's okay now" he said and reached out an arm to pull Alice closer as well. "Are you excited about tomorrow?" he asked and the girls bounced up and down which made Milo wake up.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and the whole family would spend the weekend at Nana's house because she was the only one that could room all of the Puckerman's. Burt, Maggie and Granny were invited as well and the family longed to spend some time with them all.

Milo had taught all of them how to say 'turkey' in ASL and Alice and Maya longed to show the others how to sign it. They were still as enthusiastic about signing as before and Kurt wondered how Milo could be so patient with the approximately two hundred 'How do you sign…?' questions that the girls asked every single day.

They had learned a lot during the past month and Noah was starting to get the hang of it as well. The classes were awesome and every time he brought home new words to teach his family. Milo corrected him sometimes when he did it wrong and it always made the girls giggle to see the small boy put their Daddy's hands in the right position.

Milo had taken a natural place in their family and bot Kurt and Noah feared for the day when Milo would move out. They knew of course that this was just temporary, but the thought still broke their hearts. The boy had really started to loosen up and now he ran around with the girls like he had known them forever. He was still too skinny but his skin had a healthy glow and the light was back in his dark eyes. The girls referred to him as their brother even though Noah and Kurt explained to them that Milo had a mother of his own that he would move back to in the future.

It always made the girls sad when they told them that, but it was important that they understood. Otherwise it would be chaos when it finally happened. For now, everything was great though.

Susan Finch from the social services and an interpreter had been visiting a week ago and she had been pleased.

* * *

_One week ago, three weeks after Milo's arrival._

_Kurt sighed as he watched Alice stuff her mouth with pancakes with her hands instead of her fork. _

"_Alice, will you please eat like a normal human being. You're not…"_

"…_some kind of wild animal!" Maya immediately screamed from her seat and giggled happily. Just as Maya said that, Susan could see Milo signing something with a huge smile on his face and she turned to the woman beside her._

"_What was he saying?" she asked curiously and saw the woman smile._

"_The exact same thing as Maya" she chuckled. It seemed to be something that Kurt said a lot as the kids knew exactly what he was going to say. Susan smiled as she watched the oldest girl trying to convince her parents that she was, indeed a hungry tiger._

"_But I am a wild, wild tiger, Dad!" she said with sparkling eyes. "And I'm very hungry. Grrr!" she said and showed her claws and teeth while Maya and Milo laughed._

"_Oh, you are, are you?" Kurt asked with a grin. "And I'm a very dangerous lion that eats tigers for lunch!" he said with a deep and dark voice as he narrowed his eyes against his daughter and leaned forward to get closer to her. She almost bounced up and down on her chair as she giggled with excitement. _

"_No! You can't eat me! I'm bigger than you and I have bigger teeth!" she threatened and turned to her sister. "And Maya's also a tiger and we're gonna eat you together!" she laughed._

_Milo was signing so quickly that only Kurt and Mrs. Johnson could follow and the rest of the crowd looked at them with curious eyes._

"_A crocodile?" Kurt gasped and the girl's eyes widened. "You're a crocodile with hundreds of teeth?" _

_Milo nodded happily and opened his mouth to show his tiny milk teeth that couldn't threaten anyone. _

"_Wow, that's a lot of teeth!" Noah said with a horrified expression and the girls giggled. _

"_What are you, Daddy?" Maya said and turned to Noah who seemed to think for a while before answering. _

"_I'm a very long snake that's gonna swallow you whole in one bite. I'm gonna sneak up on you so quietly that you'll never see me coming" he said and licked his lips. _

"_Not me! You can't eat me. I'm too big!" Milo signed proudly and Noah glanced at Kurt who immediately translated in a whispering voice as they often did when Noah had trouble keeping up with the five year olds quick hands. _

"_Oh, really? Let's see about that. I bet I can eat you!" Noah said and reached out to grab him. Milo was too quick though and slid down from his chair and disappeared under the table followed by Alice and Maya a second later. _

"_Oh my god, Kurt! I think we have two tigers and a crocodile under our kitchen table!" Noah screamed and pulled his feet up onto his chair as the animals tried to reach for him with loud noises._

"_I think you're right, honey!" Kurt squealed and tried to escape one of the tigers that pretended to eat his leg. _

_The women just sat there and watched the family play for a long time with huge smiles on their faces. Noah chased the kids out of the room and soon loud giggles and happy screams could be heard from the living room as Noah tickled them on the couch until they were panting for air._

"_Just a normal day at the Hummel-Puckerman household" Kurt said with an apologetic smile as Noah and the kids had left the room. _

"_You seem to have a very happy family, Kurt" Susan said and stood up. "I think that we can agree that Milo's happy and taken care of. He hasn't stopped smiling since we got here" she said and shook Kurt's hand as she reached for her coat. _

"_Yes, I really hope that he likes it here, because we want him to stay more than anything" Kurt said and blinked away some tears that appeared in his eyes. Noah soon stepped into the hallway with Alice on his back and Maya and Milo hanging around his legs._

"_You're leaving?" he said and the women nodded. "Oh, okay…" he said and suddenly looked nervous. "Did we pass the test?"_

"_It wasn't a test, Noah" Susan said and smiled. "But I'm happy with what I saw today and with what I heard from Milo when we talked" she added and waved at the boy. _

"_Oh, good" Noah just said, but Kurt could see him exhale and relax a bit._

"_Bye Milo" the women said and waved at him and then at the girls. "It was great meeting you all."_

"_Yeah, you too" Kurt said and closed the door behind them and slumped against it. Then he smiled and reached out his arms for Noah and the kids. "I love you all, you know that, right?" he sighed and hugged them close._

"_We love you too, Dad" Alice said, and they all nodded in agreement._

* * *

"Hey, man!" Noah said as he answered a call from Blaine that night. "What's up?"

"Umm, I need a little help from you next week. With the shop…" Blaine said and Noah could almost hear the hesitation and apology in his voice as he said it. Blaine of course understood that Milo kept him occupied, but it didn't solve his problem.

"Yeah?" Noah said, actually a bit happy, because he really missed the music store. "Why's that? What happened to the new guy?"

"Yeah, well…it didn't work out. Let's leave it at that, okay?" Blaine said with a sigh.

"Okay…? What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to open the store on Monday. I have a doctor's appointment with Max that I can't reschedule. It's just a couple of hours."

"Yeah, I can probably do that. Kurt's at home anyway, so…" Noah answered, not sure if this was doing to work out, but he really needed some time outside of the house.

"Also…" Blaine said and sighed again. "Mrs. Miller called again yesterday. She's not exactly pleased with you cancelling another one of Victoria's violin lessons."

Noah sighed. He knew that this was starting to get a bigger problem than he had hoped for. Most of the parents hand been understanding, but some of them was starting to get pissed off for real. It had been four weeks after all, and they had signed up for lessons every week. Of course they would get their money back, but that wasn't the point.

"Tell her that…" Noah clenched his jaw. "Tell her that I'll be there next week, okay? I'll make it work."

"Really?" Blaine said and Noah could hear the relief in his voice as he breathed out. "That would be awesome, man. I don't think I could tell her 'no' again."

"I know. I'll be there. How's Max anyway?"

"He's okay. It's just a check-up after his fall down from that damn tree."

"Okay, say 'hi' from me. We should get together after thanksgiving. The girls really miss him and I want him to meet Milo."

"Yeah, let's do that. We'll talk on Monday. I'll probably be in around noon. Thanks again." Blaine said and they hung up.

"What was that about?"

Noah spun around and met his husband's curious eyes.

"Hi, how long have you been standing there?" Noah asked and saw the annoyed look on Kurt's face. _Yeah, probably too long._

"A while. Long enough to hear you promise to work without checking with me first" he said and Noah sighed.

"Well, Blaine needs my help, and I'll help him. It's just a couple of hours. I'll drop off Alice at school on the way."

"And what about Maya and Milo? I have to finish this project that I'm working on" Kurt said firmly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Noah sighed. "Well, you've been working like a maniac ever since Milo got here. Maybe you can take some time off for a change?" he said. He realized that he was starting to get angry, but he couldn't stop himself. "I'm not the only adult in this house, you know!"

"I never said that, but…"'

"But your job is clearly more important than mine, I get it!" Noah yelled and rubbed his face.

"Well…" Kurt started but Noah cut him off.

"I love these kids more than anything, Kurt, but I have to get out of this house every once in a while before I go crazy. I have parents that I made a promise to and kids to teach. I know that your job is important, but you're a father and that should always come first." He said and walked out of the room. He slammed the door shut behind him and never saw Kurt flinch on the other side.

Kurt stood frozen; the angry tone in Noah's voice echoing through his head as a silent tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. He loved his job, and if he could just pull this project off then he would get a raise that this family really needed. He never told Noah; he was too afraid of failing, but now he regretted his actions. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

* * *

**Please don't kill me! I promise to fix this. Next chapter will be thanksgiving and there will be some (much needed) smut, too. The rating will be changed to M, so this is your warning if you don't want to read that. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi! Sorry this chapter took so long. It was Christmas, and I can use that as an excuse, right? Anyway, this chapter contains smut, and I have changed the rating to M, so consider this your warning. Otherwise, enjoy chapter six. It's the longest so far.**

* * *

Noah woke up the next morning feeling cold and lonely. The evening before had been silent and awkward and Kurt had finally called the kids into their room a bit earlier than usual to read them a bedtime story while Noah escaped the room to clean up the kitchen. He had returned to help carry the sleeping kids into their own beds and then the awkward silence had gotten even worse.

They had fallen asleep with their backs against each other, something they never did and even skipped the goodnight kiss that they promised to always share.

He felt awful. He knew that he started this with the yelling and everything, but he just couldn't help himself. The situation with Kurt working nonstop was untenable and they both knew it.

He opened his eyes with a sigh and felt his heart clench when he realized that Kurt's side of the bed was empty. A hand stroking over the mattress told him that he had been gone for a while, too. It was cold and he pulled the covers up a bit higher when he thought about Kurt walking out on him during the night. He never did that other than to use the bathroom.

A few minutes later he couldn't stand it anymore so he slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a tee and walked out of the room to find Kurt. Today was Thanksgiving Day and facing his whole family like this was not something he desired.

Alice' room was empty aside from the sleeping girl and he closed her door again and poked his head into Maya's room. The sight that met him both made him smile and tear up at the same time.

Maya was sleeping like a rock as always and pressed between her and the wall in her small toddler bed was Kurt, wide awake. Noah stood in the doorway unnoticed and saw Kurt trace a fingertip over Maya's light brown eyebrows over and over again. He never took his eyes off the girl and he had a sad smile on his face as he watched her sleep.

"Hi" Noah finally said and Kurt flinched and hid his face in their daughter's pillow. Noah could hear him inhale and then he turned around to meet his eyes. Kurt's eyes were huge and green and Noah could easily see the traces of shed tears on his face. Three long steps and he were at the bedside, kneeling down to Kurt's level.

"I'm sorry" Kurt whispered and Noah had to swallow to get rid of the lump in his throat.

"For what?" Noah asked confused. He had been the one yelling after all.

"For working too much" Kurt said like it was obvious. "That's what started this, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it was in a way. I just…" he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to get out of the house every once in a while, or I'll go crazy. You know that," he said and Kurt nodded.

"I know, and I really am sorry. It's just that this new project with and my blog and everything…" he took a deep breath. "If I can pull it off during next week then I'll get a raise. And it's kind of an impressive one, too."

Noah lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh?" he said, not sure what to say. Why hadn't Kurt told him about this? It was a big thing after all.

"I never told you because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it," Kurt admitted and lowered his eyes. "I didn't want to disappoint you if I failed."

Sometimes Noah got a glimpse of this insecure side of Kurt and it always made him sad and ready to cry. When they first met, this had been a usual sight, but over their years together Kurt had grown more and more secure and strong and now this was quite unusual.

"Come on" he said and took Kurt's hand to help him stand up from the bed. "I don't even know how you can fit into that bed" he smiled and bent down to kiss Maya's forehead.

Kurt trailed after him back to their bedroom and climbed in. He kept his distance though until Noah gently pulled him into his arms and placed Kurt's head on his chest. They were completely quiet for a long time, Kurt listening to Noah's heartbeat and Noah nuzzling his face into Kurt's soft hair and breathing him in.

"I don't want to be a bad father" Kurt finally whispered and Noah closed his eyes for a second, touched by the sadness and insecurity in his husband's voice. He moved a bit so that he could meet Kurt's eyes and kissed his forehead.

"You're not" he assured him and smiled. "You're an amazing dad, Kurt. The kids absolutely love you, and we all understand that you have to work. I think it's just that… I need that as well. I love those kids…"

"I do, too!" Kurt interrupted.

"I know you do, honey, but sometimes I need to get away as well. I love my job, but lately I've had a feeling that you don't think it's as important as yours." He sighed as he admitted this because he knew that this wasn't how Kurt felt, but he had to say it.

"I don't… I've never said that" Kurt said and bit his lower lip. "I know you love it, and Blaine needs you in the store. Just let me wrap this up next week and I promise you that we'll sit down and figure all of this out so that we both can work and look after the kids."

"Yeah, that would be great, but Blaine really needs me on Monday. He's taking Max to the doctor and apparently it didn't work out with that new guy at the store."

Kurt sighed and nodded. "Okay" he said. "I'll figure it out." He had no idea how because he would be in meetings the whole day, but he had to do this, one way or another.

"You sure?" Noah asked because he could see that Kurt wasn't, but he nodded and Noah decided to drop it for now. He tightened his hold on Kurt and felt him cuddle closer. "Why were you in Maya's bed?" he asked.

"I just needed…" Kurt began. "I felt like a lousy father and I just needed to hold at least one of them. I knew that Maya was the only one that wouldn't wake up, so…" he shrugged and smiled. "She's so beautiful, I can't believe we did that."

"I can." Noah said and kissed Kurt's hair. "And she looks just like you. Of course she's beautiful."

"Thanks" Kurt smiled against his chest and cuddled closer. "Can we sleep? It's just five thirty."

"Yeah, go to sleep, honey. I'm just gonna hold you, okay?"

"Mmm" Kurt sighed happily and was asleep in minutes. Noah kissed his hair again and drifted off as well a moment later.

* * *

"Alice, will you please put on that dress and get out here?" Kurt said with a sigh and shook his head. She had refused any help and refused to put it on herself. Now they were getting late and he started to get frustrated where he stood outside her bedroom door.

"NO!" she yelled from the inside and he could hear something heavy smash into the door.

"Today she's your daughter" he said as Noah walked by and was met by a humorless chuckle.

"I don't think so, honey. I've already done my duty. Maya and Milo are dressed in the hallway waiting for the two of you." He said and pointed towards the two kids.

"Alice, I'm coming in now" Kurt said with a firm voice as he opened the door. Luckily it couldn't be locked.

He walked in and saw his oldest daughter sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, crying silently with a dark purple mess of fabric in her lap. Kurt inhaled sharply as he recognized the dress that he had made for her just for this day. Maya had one as well and Milo had a matching bowtie and a white dress shirt and black pants.

"Hey, what happened to the dress?" he asked and tried to force himself to stay calm and not yell. "I thought you liked it?"

"I do" she said and now he could hear her sniff as she wiped her nose. "But it's stupid."

Kurt chuckled silently and moved closer. "How is it stupid, baby?" he asked curiously and lifted the dress from her lap. He eyed it and saw that the zipper had stuck to the fabric. "Oh, is it stuck? Well, I can fix this" he said and watched her hopeful eyes when she chewed her bottom lip just like him. He suddenly realized why Noah always seemed to love when he did that. It was adorable.

Alice was in a phase where she wanted to do everything herself. 'I can do it!' seemed to be her favorite sentence these days and they knew that it was an important part of her development, so they mostly let her. Sure, it took a lot more time and sometimes it went wrong, but most of the time it was okay. The problem was that she had no patience what so ever, and when it didn't work out, she became angry and refused their help.

"Here you go" Kurt said as he finally managed to fix the zipper. He held the dress up and helped Alice to get into it. The he flattened the fabric and took a good look at his daughter. The dress of course fit her perfectly, it was custom made after all, and she had on white leggings. He pushed some of her curls from her face and watched them fall back as soon as he let go.

He sighed and smiled. "We can fix your hair at Nana's, okay?" he suggested and she nodded.

"Daaad! Are you coming?" Maya screamed from the hallway and both he and Alice giggled.

"It's best that we do what they want, right sweetie?" he said and stood up. Hand in hand they walked out from the room and Kurt flicked off the light as he closed the door behind them.

"Wow, look at you, Alice" Noah said and whistled. "You look like a princess" he said and bowed before taking her hand and placing a small kiss on the back of it.

"You're silly, Daddy" she giggled and sat down to put on her shoes.

"Yeah, and I thought that I was your princess?" Kurt said and pretended to be hurt. Noah leaned in to kiss him as Alice looked at them with one of her 'Duh'- faces.

"You're not a girl, Dad, so you can't be a princess" she stated and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I know, but you should tell that to your Daddy" Kurt said and kissed Noah's cheek as he walked by. "He forgets it sometimes."

"Hey, I haven't called you 'princess' in ages" Noah said in an attempt to defend himself. "But I can start again if you want to" he added and winked as he followed Maya and Milo out to the car.

Kurt giggled quietly as he helped Alice with her coat and shoes. He had hated when people called him a girl in school, but it was different when Noah called him 'princess'. He always did it with a smile and a loving tone that melted Kurt's bones. He felt his heart flutter as he thought about that wink Noah gave him and smiled. It woke something in him that shouldn't be awake when the kids were close.

* * *

"Hi, ma" Noah said as they got out of the car in his Nana's driveway. Carol had opened the door as they drove up and was waiting for them on the front porch; a huge smile on her face.

"Hi, sweethearts" she called back and Maya and Alice immediately started to run towards her. Kurt could hear squeals of joy and laughter as Carol wrapped her arms around the girls and complimented their dresses while kissing their cheeks.

Kurt suddenly felt a warm pressure against his leg and looked down at a terrified Milo. His eyes were even bigger than usual and he hid behind Kurt's legs while poking out to watch Carol and the girls hug. Soon Nana was out on the porch as well and the girls turned to her and continued their hugging.

Milo seemed to shrink even more behind Kurt and he felt his heart drop. A small fist was gripping the hem of his coat and he kneeled down to face the boy.

"Hi, there's nothing to be afraid of" he reassured him and hugged the boy close. "Shall we walk inside?"

Milo shook his head and lowered it and Kurt could see how shame, fright and sadness all filled his eyes at the same time. He hugged him closer and stroked his curls to calm him down. He hadn't met Nana more than two times since he moved in with them, and he had only met Noah's sisters Emily and Rachel once. Now, Emily would bring her kids Hannah and Justin and Rachel would bring Finn, and that was a lot for a small five year old boy. And then there was Sarah, that often happened to be quite blunt even if she meant no harm.

"I'll be right with you the whole time, okay?" Kurt said and stood up. He took a firm hold of Milo's hand and walked up to the door where he could see Carol watch them.

A couple of minutes earlier, Noah had watched the exchange between Kurt and Milo from the porch. His eyes traveled from the scared-looking boy to the laughing girls in his mothers and Nana's arms and he felt a pang of something in his chest as he realized that none of them had even acknowledged Milo. He clenched his jaw as he walked up to them and when he stepped up to hug his mother he simply said: "Don't forget Milo, okay?"

"Oh" Carol said as she realized that she had indeed forgotten about greeting him. She felt like the meanest grandmother on the planet as her eyes drifted towards her son-in-law and the small boy on the driveway. Kurt seemed to be calming the boy down and eventually he stood up and led Milo up to the porch, the boy walking behind him more than next to him the whole way.

"Hi, Kurt and hi, Milo" she greeted them as they reached the porch. Kurt smiled and kissed her cheek and then he hunched down to Milo.

"Can you say hi to Carol, sweetie?" he asked softly and Milo slowly lifted a hand and gave a small wave.

"Hi, honey" she said and watched him. He sure looked scared as he clung to Kurt. His eyes seemed to search for someone else and he sighed as he probably didn't found the person he was looking for. "Wow, you look handsome" she tried and opened his coat to see his clothes underneath. He seemed to relax a bit and searched Kurt's eyes before smiling.

"Yeah, he wanted to match the girls, didn't you, Milo?" Kurt said and was met by a nod. Kurt had made the dresses before Milo moved in, and as he had some fabric left he had asked the boy if he wanted something as well. Milo couldn't decide on what to get so Kurt had suggested a bowtie.

"Let's go inside" Carol suggested and held out a hand to Milo, but he didn't take it. Instead he tightened his hold on Kurt's hand and stepped back. They walked inside, took off their coats and shoes and went into the kitchen.

"Milo, come on!" Alice screamed a second later as she ran into the room and Carol could see him relax as soon as she took his hand. "Come and meet Hannah and Justin" she continued and Milo immediately stiffened and pulled his hand out of her grip. "They're nice, I promise" she tried again and Kurt decided to step in.

"Hey, Alice, why don't you ask Milo if he wants to come instead of just pulling at him?" he said and Alice stopped.

"But why wouldn't he want that?" she finally said, clearly confused.

"You ask him, honey. He's never met them before."

"Are you shy?" she asked as bluntly as ever and Kurt could hear Carol and Nana chuckle. Milo froze as he heard it and Kurt hugged him.

"They weren't laughing at you, Milo. It's okay to be shy, you know. Here, I'll come with you."

Together they walked into the living room and Kurt realized that maybe it wasn't the best place to start. The room was packed with people. Noah's father, Eric was on the couch with Finn, Rachel, Emily, her husband Peter, Burt, Maggie and Granny. On the floor, running around were Maya, Hannah and Justin screaming their lungs out while chasing each other.

"Wow" Kurt said and saw that Milo was nearly in tears. He scoped the boy up in his arms and hugged him close to his chest while he felt the small nose nuzzle against his neck. "It's okay" he whispered and tightened his hold.

Everyone seemed to realize then that they were standing there and the noise subsided a bit.

"Hi, everyone" Kurt said and smiled. "This cutie is Milo. I guess this family is quite overwhelming at first, but you'll meet him soon enough" he said and let go of Milo with one of his hands to sign 'scared' towards his Granny. She nodded knowingly and Burt hummed and gave his son a knowing smile. They were the only ones to understand, but Kurt expected the others to get it anyway. He didn't wanna say something to embarrass Milo in front of them so he kept quiet.

Eventually, Milo dared to step down onto the floor, but only because Noah sat down next to the playing kids. He closed the distance between himself and Justin slowly, but every once in a while he looked back to make sure that Noah was still there. As the time went on, his glances towards Noah became less and less and finally he didn't look at all. Justin had found the box with toy cars and the boys were playing in silence; driving the cars all around the room and crashing the cars against each other every minute or so.

* * *

"Hi" Kurt heard someone say as two strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Soft lips pressed small kisses along his neck and he shivered when Noah nipped at his sensitive skin.

"Hi, yourself" he said and allowed himself to lean back into the muscular chest. He was in the kitchen helping the women of the house with dinner. Right now he was making the pumpkin pies for later. "Where's Milo?"

"Playing with Justin" Noah simply said and Kurt breathed out. "He didn't seem like he needed me anymore, and I needed you, so…" Noah explained and kissed Kurt's ear which made him inhale and close his eyes for a second.

"You _needed _me?" he asked teasingly and Noah chuckled, sending chills down Kurt's spine.

"Yeah, I did. You're so ridiculously hot in those jeans" he whispered in Kurt's ear and pressed his hips just a tiny bit closer to Kurt's ass.

Kurt sucked in some air as he felt the soft bulge against his ass and looked around to see if anyone was watching them. When he had decided that they were all discussing the turkey he pressed his ass back and felt Noah moan silently against his neck. "Later" he whispered and saw Noah's eyes widen.

"Really?"

"Yeah. If we can manage to disappear for a few minutes." Kurt wiggled his eyebrows and saw his husband's eyes darken.

"Hey, keep it PG in the kitchen, okay?" Sarah said as she walked in and saw them. "You're cooking in here."

"Hi, squirt" Noah sighed and sounded a bit disappointed to be disturbed.

"Whoa, can't you at least pretend to be happy to see me?" she said and pouted, but her eyes sparkled with happiness. "And I'm not a squirt. I'm eighteen!" She and Noah had some invisible bond between them and now they hadn't seen each other in months. Sarah was in College in Chicago so they didn't have the opportunity to meet as often as they would've liked.

"I am happy to see you" he simply said and let go of Kurt to hug her close. "You look great."

"You too, big bro. I can see that Kurt has finally taken charge of your wardrobe" she teased and Kurt raised a hand to high-five her.

"I'm only allowed to do it on special occasions like this. I'll live on this until Christmas" Kurt smiled and laughed as Noah stuck his tongue out.

"Okay, kids" Carol said and broke them up with a chuckle. "Can you set the table?" Noah and Sarah nodded and took the stack of plates and cutlery before walking out to the dining area.

* * *

The food was on the table an hour later and they all gathered around it.

"What do you want, sweetie?" Kurt asked Milo who was seated on his left side and watched the boy sign 'turkey' with a huge smile. The playtime with Justin had been exactly what he needed and now his cheeks were pink and his eyes sparkled as he watched the food.

"This is how you sign 'turkey'" Alice said proudly and poked Milo who sat next to her. "Right, Milo?"

They made the sign for turkey together and laughed when everybody tried to do it as well.

"No, it's like this, Hannah" Alice said and held her fist under her chin and let her thumb and index finger hand down and dangle back and forth. "See, it looks like a turkey!"

"It's good that you teach them how to sign as well" Nana said from across the table and Kurt shook his head while swallowing his food.

"It's not just us. It's mostly Milo who's teaching them" he explained and everyone looked impressed. "Yeah, every day, the girls ask him 'Milo, how do you say chair? Milo, how do you say teddy bear? Milo, how do you say turkey?' and so on. I can't believe that you never get tired, sweetie" he said and kissed his head as Milo smiled bigger and started to sign. Everyone watched him and waited for someone to interpret, and Kurt finally did.

"He says that he's happy that they want to learn. It's easier to play then" he translated and everyone nodded as they understood.

"How about we go around the table and say what we're thankful for?" Nana suggested and Rachel started and was followed by Finn, Eric and Emily.

"Well…" Noah said when it was his turn. "I'm obviously thankful for my family, and when I say that I mean all of you sitting here today. I'm extra thankful for Kurt, who still has the patience to deal with me and my goofy behavior" he said and everyone chuckled. "…and for my daughter's that I love more than anything in the world" he continued and stroked their heads. Kurt could see Milo shrink in his seat and held his breath. But he wouldn't have to worry, because Noah turned his eyes to the boy next and smiled. "And this year I'm extra grateful for having Milo with us. He's taught us so much in just four weeks and… you'll always have a place in my heart, kiddo."

Everyone was quiet as Noah squeezed the boys shoulder and ruffled his hair.

Kurt pretty much repeated the same thing when it was his turn and Milo shyly signed that he was grateful that he lived with them and that Justin had awesome cars, which made everyone smile.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly and everyone helped to clean up the table and get ready for dessert. Then they just collapsed on the couch stroking their bellies and groaning about being too full and not able to move without throwing up.

"We should go outside for a while" Carol suggested, getting the feeling that they could all need some fresh air and movement to digest their food.

"I'll stay inside and wash up if that's okay" Kurt quickly said and met Noah's eyes in a 'don't go anywhere' look that made Noah gulp and shudder. Kurt saw it and bit his lower lip in a pleased smile while turning back to the kitchen counter to hide the problem in his pants.

Noah had sent him horny glances throughout the whole dinner and as they prepared dessert he had seductively whispered "I thought _you_ were dessert" in Kurt's ear with a husky voice. Then Kurt licked his spoon a little extra while eating pie and Noah had to adjust himself under the table which made Kurt snicker.

Now, Kurt couldn't take it anymore and by the look on Noah's face, he was in the same state.

"Yeah, is it okay if I stay in as well? I kinda need to talk to Kurt about something…" Noah said and rubbed the back of his neck which made Carol lift her eyebrows in question. Noah wasn't a very good liar, and she recognized that expression on his face immediately. She didn't know what he had in mind though, but it sure as hell wasn't talking.

* * *

Noah was next to him at the counter as soon as the door slammed shut behind the last person and Kurt turned around to face him with a huge grin on his face. He pressed his body up against Noah's and pulled him closer so that their bodies were flushed together.

"Hey, beautiful" Noah whispered and leaned down to kiss Kurt's neck with moist lips. He let his mouth travel from Kurt's jaw and all the way down to his collarbone where he places one final kiss before lifting his head to meet Kurt's dark eyes.

"H-hi" Kurt stuttered and blushed. "Bedroom?"

"No. The lock's broken. Bathroom?" Noah answered and Kurt raised his brows in surprise.

"What? You're gonna take me in the bathroom?" he whispered in a mock-shock tone, but Noah could see how turned on he was, so he simply nodded.

"Yeah, a quickie with you, my love, bent over the sink" he said and leaned in to kiss Kurt's pink lips passionately.

"Fuck" Kurt moaned which made Noah chuckle.

"Yeah, let's do that" he laughed and pulled Kurt against the bathroom on the second floor. "It's a little bit more private up here" he explained as he closed the door behind them and locked it. One second later he had Kurt pressed up against it with one leg between his, his thigh rubbing against Kurt's crotch as they kissed hungrily.

Kurt moaned and thrust his hips against Noah's thigh to get some friction on his cock and started to unbutton Noah's shirt.

"No, Kurt… leave it. Let's just… fuck…take your pants off" Noah rambled and Kurt did as he was told. He unzipped his pants and only managed to get them down to his thighs before Noah's hand was inside his tight boxers, stroking his cock.

"Lube… do you have lube?" Kurt suddenly asked and cursed himself when Noah's hand stopped.

"Yeah, fuck. Just wait" he said, opened the door and disappeared down the hall to his bedroom. He soon reappeared with a half-full bottle in his hand and a huge smile on his face.

"You have lube in your room at your Nana's?" Kurt asked shocked. "Why?"

"Because I may need it if I stay over" he explained like it was obvious.

"Why would you need it?"

"Because it's better to jerk off with lube when I think about you" Noah answered and wiggled his eyebrows and claimed his mouth again. Both their pants were open and pulled down to their thighs by now and Noah's hand stroked Kurt's cock and swallowed the moans that escaped his mouth.

"I need you" Kurt managed to choke out after a couple of minutes and Noah took one look at his flushed face and turned him around so that he was leaning against the sink. Then he positioned himself behind him and met his eyes in the mirror.

"So ridiculously hot" he said and kissed Kurt's neck while opening the bottle of lube. He poured a generous amount over his fingers and yanked Kurt's pants down lower so that he could spread his legs. His fingertips gently traced circles around his exposed hole and then he met Kurt's eyes and pushed the first one inside of his tight heat.

Kurt's reaction was immediate. His eyes widened, his back arched and his hands tightened their hold on the sink as Noah's finger pushed all the way inside. "Oh, fuck…" he moaned and Noah smiled proudly.

"Another one?" he asked after a minute and Kurt just nodded and moaned as Noah pulled out and inserted two instead. Kurt wiggled his hips and pushed back against his hand as Noah started to slide his fingers in and out in a faster pace. "More?"

"Fuuuck… I mean, fuck me. I'm ready" Kurt said in a husky voice and it was the hottest fucking thing Noah had ever heard. He loved when Kurt got dirty when they fucked. He almost never swore outside the bedroom.

Noah took some more lube and gave his own aching cock a few quick strokes before positioning the head against Kurt's slick opening. "You sure you want this?" he asked teasingly and kissed Kurt's long neck as his head fell back onto Noah's shoulder.

"Stop the fucking teasing, Noah!" he demanded and Noah obeyed. One of his hands gripped Kurt's hip and one arm was wrapped around his chest as he slowly pushed himself inside his husband's warm body. He bottomed out and felt Kurt breathe deeply to adjust. Then he reached back and took hold of Noah's hips to hold him in place and rolled his hips to get the last inch of Noah's cock to slip inside.

"Oh, god…" Noah moaned. There was nothing hotter than Kurt doing that.

"You can call me Kurt" he smiled into the mirror and clenched his muscles around Noah's cock. "Now, move."

It started out kind of slow even though Kurt tried to speed it up. Noah knew though that Kurt wanted too much too fast sometimes, and he wasn't going to hurt him. But soon he couldn't hold back anymore. The tightness and the heat became too much and he started to slam into Kurt's body in a rapid speed. They tried to be quiet but the sound of Noah's body and balls slapping against Kurt's ass couldn't be silenced. They held each other's eyes through the mirror the whole time except for the times when they just needed to squeeze their eyes shut because it was too much.

"Fuck…Kurt, you're so….yeah…good…" Noah mumbled against his neck and saw Kurt's eyes roll back into his head. He knew that he was close, and so was he. He could feel the boiling heat gather in his lower stomach and he knew that it was just seconds before it would be over. Kurt's cock was rock hard in his hand and he increased the speed of his strokes.

"Oh, Noah…" Kurt moaned and thrust his hips back extra hard while clinging to the arm that was wrapped around his body. "Fuuuck me!"

"Yeah, baby, come on…" Noah said through clenched teeth. "Come for me."

He didn't even have time to finish the sentence before Kurt was clenching around him and arching his whole body while coming all over Noah's hand and his own stomach.

That was the last straw for Noah as well. He finally let go and pushed himself all the way inside of Kurt's body as he came so hard that he nearly passed out. He clung to his body like a lifeline and felt Kurt's body shudder from the aftershocks of his orgasm. Then he slumped against him, allowing his spent body to lean over Kurt's sweaty back for a minute before pulling out and turning his husband around to face him.

For a moment they just stood there; silently grasping each other's bodies as they breathed and tried to calm down. Then Kurt lifted his head from Noah's shoulder and found his mouth in a slow, loving kiss. "You're amazing."

"So are you, honey."

Then suddenly Kurt began to giggle, and it soon turned into a full laugh. "I can't believe we just had sex in your Nana's bathroom!" he managed to say through his laughs. "That's insane!"

"Yeah, and we weren't particularly quiet either" Noah pointed out and this made Kurt blush and hide his face in Noah's shoulder.

"Shit. What if they came inside" he said wide-eyed and Noah couldn't stop himself from kissing him. Kurt was so beautiful with his hair messed up, his eyes dark with lust and his flushed cheeks.

"Yeah, maybe we should clean up and head down before someone notices that we're gone" Noah said and planted one last kiss on Kurt's swollen lips. He never got tired of kissing him.

* * *

"Oh, there you are" Nana said as they walked down the stairs. She just walked out of the kitchen when she spotted them. "Sarah was looking for you earlier. I think it was something with the children."

"Oh, sorry, we were just…talking" Kurt managed to say and felt his cheeks heat up. "Where's she now?"

"I think she walked back outside" Nana said and walked back into the kitchen where she was drinking tea with Kurt's Granny.

"Have they been in here all the time?" Kurt whispered as he walked to the door. Noah shrugged as they blushed. It was a good thing that both of the ladies had some problem with their hearing.

"Hey, Dad!" Kurt called when he stepped out onto the porch. "Were you looking for us?"

"No, it was nothing serious. It was just something Milo tried to say, but I managed to solve it. Obviously I remember more than I thought" he said and looked proud. "Where were you anyway?"

"Umm…we were…umm…talking…?" Kurt tried, but he could see that Burt looked right through him as he rubbed his head under his cap and the silence got awkward.

"Hi, lover boys" Sarah suddenly appeared with a smirk on her face. "I came looking for you earlier. Good thing it was just me" she said, loud and clear as usual.

"Well, thanks, squirt" Noah sighed and smacked the back of her head as she walked by. "You're so discreet" he added and looked towards Burt.

"_You _are in no position to talk about discretion, dear brother" she said and stepped closer. "I suggest that you step inside and wash up now if you don't want to explain to mom and dad what you did instead."

"What the hell, Sarah!" Noah yelled after her and when he turned around he could see both Kurt and Burt trying to stop themselves from laughing. "Oh, not you too!"

The kitchen got cleaned up eventually anyway and Carol just watched them curiously as she walked in and they were still in the kitchen. She didn't say a word though, even if she eyed them closely.

The rest of the day consisted of board games and more food until all the kids (and Burt) were asleep on the couch. They had all decided to stay the night, so Kurt and Noah carried the kids upstairs with a little help from Finn and decided to call it a night.

A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Hey, guys…?"

"Yeah?" Noah said and sat up. Carol stood in the doorway with a bottle between her thumb and the tip of her index finger. "Is this yours? Found it in the bathroom" she said and wiggled it back and forth.

"Oh my god!" Kurt squealed and hid under the covers as he recognized the bottle of lube they used earlier.

"Mom!" Noah groaned. "Couldn't you just have left it? We would've found it eventually."

"Yeah, but I just thought that you didn't want your dad to find it first" she smiled and giggled as she walked out. "So that's why the dishes took so long, huh?"

"MOM!" Noah said through gritted teeth. "Get out!"

"Sorry, honey. Sweet dreams." She said and turned around to walk out. "You too, Kurt!" she chirped and was met by a loud embarrassed groan from under the covers and a chuckle from Noah.

_Yeah, there's nothing funnier than to embarrass your kids, _she thought as she walked down the hall to her own room._ They'll learn that someday. _

* * *

**Okay, so how was that? Please tell me what you thought. Reviews are better than sugar.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi, guys. Sorry this took so long. I just had no ideas what so ever. This chapter is just sweet and fluffy and a little bit sad. Not much happens, but I kind of like it anyways. I have plans though for future chapters and we'll get there eventually. Until then...**

* * *

"Hey, guys! How are you?" Noah asked while he patted the two curly heads belonging to the kids hugging his waist.

"Good" Alice said and hugged him tighter. "Today we learned how to write our names but I could already do that because Dad taught me that ages ago, and then we drew pictures of our families and Carter said that Milo isn't my real brother, but I think he is, and…"

"Whoa, Alice, slow dawn, will ya'?" Noah chuckled and hunched down so that he was on eyelevel with her and Milo. "You're talking a lot, aren't you, sweetie?" he smiled and she nodded eagerly.

"Yeah. Mrs. Meyers says that as well. All the time!"

"Well, honey, if your teacher tells you that, then you should probably stop talking. You have to listen to her when you're here, you know that. She's in charge here, right?"

"Mhmm…" Alice nodded but Noah could see that she didn't completely agree.

"So, what's this about your picture and Carter?" he asked when he suddenly remembered what she had said earlier.

"Well, I drew you and Dad, and then I drew Maya and of course Milo next to me. Wait, I'll show you!" she said and quickly ran off into the classroom.

"And how're you, kiddo?" Noah asked and turned to Milo. "Was today okay?"

Milo nodded but lowered his head. Noah could see him biting his lower lip and he gently pulled the boy into a soft hug and let his palms travel up and down over his thin back. He had a feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"How was it, really?" he whispered into his curls and felt him snuggle closer to his chest without answering.

Milo had finally started school three weeks ago, right after Thanksgiving and there was a young girl by his side at all time, eager to translate whenever needed. They had discussed and finally agreed on him being in the same class as Alice, mostly because she already knew quite a bit ASL and also because she was the only kid he knew in school. It would be good for him to have a familiar face in the crowd. He was mostly happy being in school, but it was hard for him at the same time. In his old school, he hadn't been the only one using ASL and the teacher knew it as well. Here he was completely alone and totally relying on the interpreter.

"Look, here it is!" Alice shouted as she returned. She held out a large picture with a happy family smiling and holding hands. In the middle were Noah and Kurt with a heart painted between their heads like they were in love, which they totally were. Maya was holding Noah's hand and Alice was holding Kurt's. And then, next to Alice, holding her hand, was Milo.

"So, this is you, because you're taller than Dad..." she said and pointed a small finger to one of the guys in the middle. "But Carter said that I couldn't have two daddies and that Milo wasn't my real brother." Alice looked sad now and her bottom lip trembled.

"Well, he is your brother right now, aren't you, Milo?" Noah said and hugged the boy tighter. "Families can look very different from each other. You both know that, right?" he asked and they both nodded. "And right now we're a family; the five of us."

Milo signed 'sister?' and pointed at Alice, and Noah nodded.

"Yeah, Alice can be your sister if she wants to" he said and watched Alice jump up and down and squeal before throwing her arms around Milo and hugging him harder than necessary.

"Well, this is beautiful, Angel" Noah said when they all calmed down again. "We're totally taking this home and framing it." It actually was a really nice drawing, not just something he said to make her happy. "What did you draw, Milo?" he asked and suddenly realized why the boy was acting so weird when Alice talked about her drawing. What had he been drawing?

Milo just shook his head and buried his face deep into Noah's chest again and he never got a chance to continue the discussion because Mrs. Meyers opened the door and said his name.

"Mr. Hummel- Puckerman?" she said and he nodded.

"Yeah?" he said and eyed her curiously. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Yes, actually it was. Can I talk to you for a second? That is, if you have the time?"

"Yeah, we do. We're not supposed to pick up Maya for another hour. She's with her _bestest grandpa Burt_" he said and smiled. Burt and Maya really had something very special going on and they loved spending time together. This week, Kurt was in New York, so Burt took the opportunity to steal one of the kids every now and then. Today it was Maya's turn. "Is it okay if I speak to your teacher for a minute, kiddos?" he asked and watched them nod. "And you two stay in the hallway, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy!" Alice said and skipped down the hallway with Milo's hand in her own.

* * *

Noah took a seat at one of the desks right in front of Mrs. Meyers and finally met her eyes. She was a nice woman in her mid-forties with light brown hair and happy green eyes. She always wore colorful dresses with large patterns and the kids seemed to love her.

"Is everything okay? Are they causing trouble?" he asked nervously, but she just smiled.

"No worries. They're sweethearts" she answered and Noah could see that she was speaking the truth. But he could also see something else in her eyes, and it made him worry.

"Is it about Milo?" he finally asked and held his breath as he could see her trying to find the words.

"Actually, it is" she finally said. "He's such a sweet kid, but I can sense that the other kids feel insecure around him. They can't understand him, so they avoid him" she explained and Noah felt his heart clench for the boy. "Of course he has Alice, because she never leaves his side…" she continued and Noah couldn't hold back his smile. Sometimes they seemed to be glued together. "…but it would probably be good for him to have other friends as well."

"Yeah, of course" he admitted and cringed a little in his too small chair. This was what they had feared when they enrolled him in a regular class; him being left out and/or laughed at. "So what do you suggest?"

"Well, I've noticed that Milo doesn't talk much when we're in a large group. Probably because the kids stare at him when he signs. I don't think that they are being mean, I think they're just curious" she explained and Noah nodded in agreement. Yeah, that was the reaction they had gotten from Alice and Maya as well in the beginning. "So…I have an idea, called 'signs of the week'. It basically means that I'll chose five or more words every week and we'll all learn how to sign and use them. I've already talked to Anna, the interpreter, and she's on board."

"You should ask Milo" Noah said and smiled. "He's awesome at teaching ASL. He taught us almost everything we know and I actually think he likes being the one who knows how to do it. You know, being the pro for once."

"That's actually a really good idea, Mr. Hummel- Puckerman."

"Thanks, but it's Noah."

"Okay, _Noah_…" she smiled and looked at the door. "Maybe I could ask him right away and we could get started tomorrow already?" She made an effort to stand up, but Noah interrupted her.

"Wait, there's something else. Alice just told me that you were drawing families today, and that some kid called Carter told her that her family was wrong. She was quite upset actually."

"Oh, I never heard that. What did he say?" she asked concerned.

"Just that she couldn't have two daddies and that Milo wasn't her real brother" he answered with a sigh. "I mean, we've been afraid of this ever since we got the girls. We've been talking a lot about the chance of them being teased because of us, and we decided that if it came up we would try to teach the kids that it's okay to be different, so…"

"Of course it's okay!" she said immediately and smiled. "We'll talk about it first thing tomorrow, but maybe I should talk to Alice first? She's quite sensitive under that tough exterior, isn't she?" she said and Noah realized just how amazing this teacher was. She saw almost everything.

"Yes, she is. Just like both her daddies" he mumbled and earned himself a soft smile. "I'll talk to her tonight and catch you tomorrow when I drop them off. Is that okay?"

"That'll be perfect. You think I can talk to Milo now, or was there something else?"

"No, I'll get him" he stood up and shook her hand. "Oh…yeah…could I maybe see Milo's drawing?" he asked, not sure if he was overstepping some line. Maybe the drawing was private.

"Yeah, I'll show you" she said with a sad smile and led him across the room to the drawings being pinned up on the wall. He scanned through happy Mom's and Dad's and kids and dogs. All with happy smiles on their faces and then he found one that said MILO in capital blue letters.

He watched the drawing for a minute in complete silence, his eyes tearing up when he took in the small curly haired boy in the middle of the paper. It looked like Milo had put him there first and then got stuck, so he had just continued to fill in his clothes and hair with more and more color. Then, drawn with what looked like hesitation was a curly girl in a red dress, obviously Alice, and a smaller one with straight hair and a yellow dress; probably Maya.

They didn't stand as close to each other as in Alice' drawing, but they were still there. On the right side of the paper were two men, almost invisible like he didn't know if they belonged or not when he painted them. And then, in the other end, almost at the top were a dark-skinned man with black curls and something that looked like wings on his back. He was flowing a bit over the ground, almost like he was flying. And then, suddenly, Noah realized that the boy in the middle,_ Milo_, was crying. It took all of his willpower not to break down and cry himself when he watched it, and Mrs. Meyers seemed to sense his mood, because she put a calming hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly as he wiped his eyes and turned around to get Milo.

The kids were running up and down the hallway with huge smiles on their faces and it made Noah a little bit happier. He swallowed the last of his sadness to hide it from them and called for the boy.

"Milo, can you come here?"

Milo immediately came running, and sometimes it worried Noah how quick the boy was to obey every request without thinking of an alternative. Alice always seemed to put up a fight when he asked her for something, but Milo just did as he was told.

"Hey, sweetie, Mrs. Meyers wanted to ask you something" he said and saw the panic in the boy's eyes.

'Am I in trouble?' he signed with worried eyes.

"No, it's nothing bad, I promise" Noah hurried to say and ushered him inside the classroom. "She just has a proposition for you and the class that I think you'll like. Come on Alice, I think you can hear this as well!" he called and saw the girl come running. She immediately seemed to sense Milo's nervousness and grabbed his hand as they walked in. Noah watched them with a soft smile and followed.

* * *

Milo had been happy when he heard his teacher's idea and Alice was just as enthusiastic. Now they were at home, Burt had dropped off Maya and they were on the couch watching cartoons and talking. They had talked about something with school when Milo did a sign that none of them had seen before. It was ten minutes ago, and now his patience started to run out.

"Ehh…I don't know what that means, Milo" Noah said frustrated as the boy once again did the same sign as he had did the last couple of minutes. He drew with his index finger what looked like a Z in the air starting at his face and ending in the air in front of his chest. He looked sad and a bit angry that Noah didn't understand him, and that made the man sad as well. Noah was home alone with the kids for the first time in weeks, and not having Kurt around to translate was proven harder than he had imagined. There were a lot of words that he hadn't learned yet and that showed.

Alice, who had been to the bathroom, walked into the living room a minute later, looking as confused as Noah when Milo tried to make her understand.

"What is that, Milo?" she asked and scrunched up her nose. "It looks weird."

_Way to be subtle_, Noah thought as he watched Milo getting more and more frustrated. He tried again and when they all still looked like big question marks he stomped his foot and ran out of the room with his head down. A second later the door to his bedroom closed with a loud 'bang' and Noah flinched and sighed. He stood up and quickly moved to the closed door.

"Milo…?" he tried and knocked gently on the door. "I'm sorry that I don't understand. I know it's hard, but I'm really trying here" he said and slowly opened the door an inch. Milo was on his stomach on the bed, clutching a pillow with his arms and burying his face in it. He quickly shook his head when he heard Noah move closer.

"Please?" Noah tried again and let his palm gently rest on the boy's back. "Will you at least look at me, kiddo?"

Milo hesitated for a second before slowly turning around, but he still avoided Noah's eyes.

"Hey, we can solve this, right? We don't need Kurt or Granny to do this. We just have to come up with something clever by ourselves. We can do it!" Noah said, and as he said it he realized that it was true. They could do this, and they would. He cursed silently because Milo was too young to spell it out for him, but then suddenly an idea came into his head.

"Hey, can you draw it?" he asked and Milo bit his lip for a second like he really thought about whether he could or not, but then he nodded determinately.

"You can?" Noah asked hopefully. He just couldn't believe that he may have solved the problem without Kurt. Milo nodded again and jumped down from the bed and reached for a paper and his crayons. Then he picked up a green one and started to draw. The tip of his tongue stuck out between his lips as he slowly and concentrated drew a…

"Is that a lizard?" Noah asked confused and Milo almost jumped up and down on his chair as he nodded with the biggest smile ever.

"Is it Paul?" Alice asked from where she was standing next to Milo. _Where did she come from?_ Noah wondered and saw Milo nod again.

"Paul?" Noah asked, yet again utterly confused.

"Yeah, it's Mrs. Meyer's lizard. She brought him to school today so that we could see how he moved and what he ate. We're working with animals this week. He's only eating vegetables and no meat. And he's green. And did you know that if he loses his tail, a new will grow out!" she explained wide-eyed and Noah chuckled when he realized how much she sounded like a teacher herself.

"She has a lizard named _Paul_?" he asked and snorted. "That's hilarious."

"Yeah, and tomorrow Nick will bring his hamster. Why don't we have any pets, Daddy? I want a bunny or a kitten or a puppy or…"

"Yeah, I get the point, sweetie, but we're not getting any pets. Sorry."

"See, Milo wants a kitten as well!" Alice continued and Noah saw the boy make imaginary whiskers and he could bet that his smile was even bigger than before.

"I know, but it's not gonna happen, so drop it, okay?" Noah sighed. He should've known that this discussion would come up sooner or later with three kids in the house.

"What are you doing?" Maya suddenly stood in the doorway and watched them curiously.

"We're trying to learn new signs. Wanna join?" Noah said and opened his arms for his youngest daughter who immediately ran into them and was lifted onto his lap.

"How?" Maya asked and saw Milo's drawing. "A lizard" she simply stated and Milo smiled proudly.

"Well, we'll do it as a game. Milo's drawing something, and we'll guess what it is. Then he'll teach us how to sign it. Then we draw something, and when Milo can guess what it is then he'll teach us how to sign it. That way we can choose to paint things that we don't know how to sign, and he can draw things that we need to learn. Okay?"

The kids nodded in unison and they decided to move this to the kitchen table where there was more room for them to sit. Noah brought out a stack of papers and the kids got their crayons and pencils. Then they started. One person drew, and the other ones guessed. Every round ended with Milo signing the word and everyone else copying it until they remembered it.

"What is that, Daddy? You're the worstest ever!" Maya said at one point and Noah couldn't stop himself from laughing. Kid's words sometimes were just hilarious.

"It's just the _worst_, Maya, and you shouldn't say stuff like that. That's mean."

"Sorry, Daddy, but what is it? It looks like a cow but it's read…"

"It's pink!" Noah defended himself.

"No, it's red. And it's not a cow, right?" Alice said and giggled.

"NO! It's not a cow. It's a pig and it's awesome!"

"That is not a pig, silly Daddy!" Maya laughed and the others joined in. "Pigs don't have ears like that!"

"Yeah, they have. It's…" he sighed. "Okay, Milo, can you show us how to sign 'pig', even if this is _apparently not_ a pig." Noah sighed and pretended to be hurt. Maya quickly hugged him from the side, quick to make him happy again. She was such a sweetheart.

Milo put one of his hands, palm down under his chin and moved all his fingers down and up a couple of times, like he was waving as someone on the floor.

"That's 'pig'?" Noah said confused. Many words were logical, but that made no sense at all. Milo just nodded and they all mimicked his moves.

"Is this right?" Alice asked even though she knew that she was right. Milo nodded again and they all repeated it a couple more times before moving on.

"So, who's drawing?" Noah asked and Milo raised his hand.

"Good thing it's not you again, Daddy!" Alice said with a giggle and Noah reached out and tickled her sides until she squealed and almost fell off her chair.

"Tell me I'm a good at drawing pigs! Tell me!" he laughed while trying to sound serious.

"Nooooo! Daaaaddy!" she laughed when he dug his fingers just a little bit deeper into her sides. "You're not…you're…"

"I'm what? The _bestest_?" he teased and finally let her go. "Yeah, I know I am. I'm so happy that you agree, honey."

"Daddy, you're crazy…" she panted and collapsed in his arms as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yeah, but I'm crazy good at painting pigs. That's for sure."

* * *

Later that night Noah carefully climbed out of his and Kurt's bed where three kids were currently asleep. He had read them four bedtime stories before they had drifted off, but he didn't care. This was his favorite time of the day. Just lying there and feeling the small bodies next to him as they reached over to point at the pictures as he read and made silly voices. The sound of their giggles was the best sound ever. And then feeling them drift off to sleep and knowing that they felt safe enough to do that made his heart swell with love and pride.

Alice stirred a bit when he left and he watched her for a second as she went back to sleep. Then he walked out, shut the door gently and picked up his phone.

"Hi…" Kurt said in the other end and Noah felt himself relax. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah, the kids were not so eager to fall asleep tonight as they use to be" he explained and sat down on the couch in the living room.

"No? Why not?"

"Don't know. I had to read four books!" Noah said and Kurt laughed softly which sent a fuzzy feeling to Noah's stomach.

"Don't even pretend that you didn't love every second of it, honey" he said and Noah could almost hear him smile in the other end. "I miss you…"

"I miss you too. Especially today." Noah admitted. It was true. He wished that Kurt had been there when he talked to the kid's teacher and when Milo got sad when they didn't understood him, but at the same time he knew that this was good for all of them.

"Why?" Kurt asked with his soft voice and the next second Noah was telling him everything; abut the kid's avoiding Milo at school and about Carter saying stupid things about Alice' drawing. Then he felt his eyes tear up again when he told Kurt about Milo's drawing.

"…and his dad was in it, Kurt, and he was an angel. And Milo was crying" he said with a small voice. "He actually drew himself with tears on his cheeks. That's too much for me to handle."

Kurt was silent for a few seconds and then he took a deep breath. When he spoke, Noah could hear that his voice was thick and trembled a little. "Was his mother in the picture?"

Noah's throat suddenly felt too tight when he realized that he hadn't even thought of that.

"No…" he managed to say and they both fell silent as they took in the information. "You don't think that he sees her as family?" he asked, nervous about the answer. What would happen if he had to move back to her eventually?

"No, apparently he doesn't" Kurt whispered. "I wish I could hug all of you right now" he admitted.

"Yeah, I wish that, too."

"You're not gonna move the kids to their beds tonight, right?" Kurt asked and Noah knew before he answered that Kurt was right.

"No, I won't. The bed just feels so empty without you."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm cold without your arms around me and your body pressed up against my back" Kurt said and Noah nodded even though Kurt couldn't see it. He knew just how it felt missing his other half at night. "Kiss the kids for me, okay?"

"I will. I promise."

"Yeah, and have them kiss you from me as well. I don't want you to be left out" Kurt said softly.

"Just make sure that there's no one kissing you until you get home" Noah said and smiled. Kurt giggled on the other end and made kissing noises.

"I promise. Sleep tight, honey. I'll see you the day after tomorrow. Love you."

"You too. And we'll talk about all of this when you get home. I'll try to talk to Milo tomorrow about that drawing. I want to make sure that he at least knows that he's allowed to draw us if he wants to."

"You're a good dad, Noah. Just remember that, okay?" Kurt assured him and yawned. "I have to sleep. Early meeting tomorrow. G'night."

"Good night, Kurt. Dream of me."

"What else would I dream about?"

* * *

**Hope you liked it even though nothing special happened. Please review. It will make me the happiest girl on the planet and I'll smile the whole day tomorrow while I'm working. On a saturday. Just saying. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi! I'm back with another chapter. I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited or followed this story so far. You're all amazing and I'm so happy that you like this story. So, let's get on with it...**

* * *

It was the middle of December and the Hummel- Puckerman's were getting ready for Christmas. Milo had been with them for exactly two months today and they decided to go out and celebrate. They ended up in a small Italian restaurant where they ate pasta and talked about what they had written on their wishing lists to Santa.

"Police car" Milo signed with a shy smile. Kurt knew exactly which car he wanted because he had pointed it out the last time they went to the toy store. He had stood there with the box in his hands, looking dreamingly at it while stroking the picture carefully until Kurt forced him to put it back. The fact that Kurt had went back and bought it later that afternoon was something that Milo didn't have to know. Yet.

"I want a pink princess dress" Maya said and stabbed yet another piece of pasta on her fork. "And a tiara like the silvery one that Madison has." Madison was a girl that lived in their neighborhood and she was almost always dressed like a princess. Her mother had shared with Kurt that she had given up trying to get her to wear something else for now.

"I want a puppy" Alice said with spaghetti hanging out of her mouth, leaving tomato sauce all over her chin. Her eyes were steady and determined and Noah sighed with a smile as he heard her.

"I told you we're not getting any pets, Alice" he said and saw her beginning to argue. "And that's final." He added and she groaned.

"And please eat like a human, sweetheart" Kurt added and held out a napkin for her to wipe her face clean. "You look like you've dipped your whole face into your plate. And look at your shirt! I'm never getting the tomato sauce out of it." He sighed and started to wipe away the worst. "Alice…"

"I'm sorry, Dad" she said but didn't look sorry at all. She just took another full fork of dripping spaghetti and lifted it to her mouth. Before it reached her face though, most of it fell into her lap.

"Okay!" Kurt said and stood up. "That's enough. Is everyone ready to pay and leave?"

"Yeah, come on, kids. We'll get you all cleaned up" Noah said and stood up to take the kids to the bathroom. "And don't touch anything, Alice!" he added when he saw her sticky hands.

Kurt paid the bill as Noah forced three pairs of small sticky hands under the running water and then gently wiped their faces clean. Then they put on their coats and hats and walked out into the chilly December weather.

Outside the restaurant they split up to get some Christmas presents. Kurt took Milo and Maya and walked one way as Noah had a firm grip on Alice' hand as they walked the other way. Kurt had promised Maya that she could choose something for Alice, and Milo still hadn't found something that he wanted to give to Noah. Alice wanted to pick something out for her siblings as well, so that's why they decided to split up.

A pile of wrapped presents were already in Kurt's wardrobe, hidden under a blanket and a mountain of shoe boxes, but there were still a few missing. Kurt wanted to find a perfect gift for Noah and they still had to get that tiara for Maya. Kurt was making her a princess dress that every kid in the neighborhood would be jealous of, and he stayed up late at night after she fell asleep to work on it. It would turn out perfect.

* * *

Loaded with bags full of wrapped presents and some clothes they met back at the car almost two hours later. The kids were tired and whiny and Kurt and Noah met each other's tired eyes before buckling them into the car without a word. Enough was enough already. They drove home ignoring the three overly-tired kids and knew that they would fall asleep the minute they allowed themselves to sit down and relax. Right now they were crazy and Kurt sighed happily when he remembered that they at least were buckled up so that they couldn't get anywhere.

"Daddy! Maya's poking my arm all the time!" Alice shouted from the backseat. "Stop it, Maya! It's not funny!"

"Yes, it is!" Maya said proudly and continued to jab her small index finger into her sister's arm with a satisfied smirk. Milo seemed to think for a second before he slowly reached out a finger and touched Alice' other arm, as she was seated in the middle.

"What are you doing, Milo!?" she screamed and turned around to face the boy. "I said IT'S NOT FUNNY!" she added; her voice going even higher, and Kurt whipped around from the passenger seat and looked at all of them with a stern face. He saw Maya looking like she actually was ashamed and avoided his eyes. Then there was Alice that looked furious as she stared at Milo. Kurt had to turn all around to get a glance of the boy, and what he saw made his heart clench.

Milo sat frozen and leaned as far away from Alice as he could; covering his face with his hands.

"Milo?" Kurt asked as he patted Alice' knee to show her that he was on her side. "Alice isn't going to hurt you, she's just upset that you two kept poking her even though she said no. It's important to stop when someone say's stop. You all know that, right?"

Maya leaned into her sister and wrapped a small arm around her neck as she whispered "I'm sorry" with a small voice. Alice sighed but eventually hugged her back. Milo was still hiding though.

"He only poked me once" Alice confessed. "It was mostly Maya!"

"Oh" Kurt said surprised. This was a very odd behavior coming from Maya. She was mostly the calm and shy one of the two girls. "And Maya, we'll talk about this behavior later." He added and looked at her as she cringed in her car seat.

"Milo, are you okay?" Noah asked when he looked through his mirror and saw the boy still hiding. He gave Kurt a worried glance when the boy didn't answer and Kurt shook his head in confusion.

They were almost home, so he decided to drop it for now and deal with it when they got there. It was way easier to talk when you weren't hanging around your seat in a car.

The car drove up to the house and Maya was quick to climb out after Alice helped her with her seat belt. She disappeared up onto the porch and Noah sighed when he saw her hide in the corner. She knew that they wouldn't drop this and she hated being yelled at even though Kurt and Noah almost never yelled.

Alice climbed out as well and Noah followed the girls up to the door to let them in. He had shared a glance with Kurt as they stepped out of the car and Kurt had waved him away with a sad smile. He opened the door on Milo's side and leaned in to unbuckle the boy before gently removing the hands that covered his face.

"Milo, will you please look at me? I'm not angry" he said with a calm voice.

Milo slowly lifted his head and showed red splotchy cheeks and tear-filled eyes that avoided Kurt's as he leaned in.

"Hey, don't cry, okay? Alice just got mad because you teased her, but she won't hurt you and neither will I or anyone else." Kurt felt the need to reassure the boy that he was safe and it seemed to do the trick. Milo looked up and then wiped his wet cheeks with his small fists before sighing.

"I only did what Maya did" he signed and that made Kurt smile a sad smile. "She laughed."

Realization hit Kurt as he saw the confusion in the dark eyes. "You thought they were playing?"

Milo nodded. "And you wanted to join?" he asked, but it wasn't really a question as much as a statement. Milo nodded again.

"Oh" Kurt said. "But you do know that stop means stop, and that's important even if it's a game."

Milo nodded again and lowered his head in shame and Kurt knew that he got it. He reached in, grabbed the boy and lifted him out of the car and into his arms. He cuddled him as close as he could with all their winter clothes in the way and locked the car behind him as he walked up to the house. "Let's go inside and watch a movie on the couch" he said and felt Milo tuck his face deeper into Kurt's neck.

Inside, Noah had talked to Maya, and the girls were now on the couch, laughing like nothing ever happened. Milo slowly approached Alice and sat down on the other end of the couch, shyly glancing her way until she closed the gap and hugged him close while kissing his curls.

"I'm not mad anymore, Milo!" she giggled and bounced a little on the cushions. "Daddy said we could watch a movie. Do you want to watch The Little Mermaid or Cinderella?" she asked held out the DVD's in front of him. He pointed at The Little Mermaid and she nodded her approval. Half an hour later they were all asleep.

* * *

The following days were filled with Christmas preparations. The kids asked ten times a day when they would buy a Christmas tree and eventually Noah had had enough and got out to get one with a little help from Sam. They arrived home with a tree so big that it almost didn't fit in the living room and they all laughed when the top bended against the roof.

"Didn't find a bigger one?" Kurt asked amused as Noah and Sam struggled to get the tree in place. He didn't move a finger, just stood there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised as he snapped a picture with his phone.

"You could help, you know" Noah groaned as the tree almost fell over.

"Nuh-uh" Kurt just said and posted the picture on Instagram with a smile.

"It's the best tree ever!" Sam said with a proud goofy grin and Kurt had to agree that it was in fact perfect. The kids jumped up and down as they tried to stand out of the way but at the same time they really wanted to touch the tree.

Kurt simply walked out into the hallway where he had placed the boxes with ornaments and other Christmas decorations that the kids had made in daycare or at home. He placed them on the coffee table and started to pull out everything that would go in the tree. The kids followed quickly and soon the tree was sparkling with lights, glitter, homemade decorations and ornaments.

"Sammy! Lift me so I can hang this up!" Maya screamed as she pulled at Sam's jeans. "It has to be all the way up there!" she told him and pointed to a branch near the top.

"Okay, princess. Hold on" Sam laughed as he lifted her onto his shoulders which made her squeal with delight.

"Me too, Sammy!" Alice shouted and was soon lifted onto Noah's shoulders, right next to her sister; the both of them laughing with joy.

Milo looked at them with envy and Kurt sent the boy a smile and a questioning look before lifting the boy onto his own shoulders and felt the small arms wrap around his forehead as he held on tightly.

"I'm not gonna drop you, honey" he assured him and walked closer to the others. Then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Noah said and walked towards the door. "_We'll_ get it, silly Daddy!" Alice said from his shoulders. "Did you forget me?"

"What? Who's talking?" Noah said and looked around. "It sounds like it's coming from above, but there's no one there, right?" he said and pretended to be confused as he turned around and searched the room with his eyes.

"I'm here, Daddy!" Alice laughed and bended forward so that her curls fell into his face. "You're silly!" she giggled and kissed his forehead.

"Oh, there you are, little monkey. I didn't see you" he laughed and lifted kissed her leg, which was the only part of her that he could reach.

"Are you opening the door, or what?" Kurt said from the living room, and Noah suddenly realized that he forgot about the door.

"Hey, man" he said as he opened it and saw Blaine. "And Max!" he added when the boy took a step forward from where he had been hiding behind his father's legs.

"Max!" Alice squealed. "Let me down, Daddy!" she squirmed and he gently put her down on the floor and saw her hug Max before helping him to take off his coat and boots. "We have the biggest tree ever. Come look!" she shouted before running into the living room followed by Max.

"We just came from the store. Hope it's okay" Blaine explained why they came unannounced but Noah just nodded.

"Of course it's okay, man. You're always welcome. And Alice has been talking about Max for days. I thought about calling and arranging a play date anyway, so…"

"Hi" Sam said from the tree when he saw his boyfriend walk in. He still had Maya on his shoulders but leaned in to kiss Blaine's lips chastely anyway. Maya giggled happily from his shoulders as she saw it.

"You kissed" she said and smiled.

"Yes we did, sweetie" Blaine said and stroked her back. "How are you, it's been ages since I last saw you?" he said to her and she said 'fine' and asked Sam to let her down so that she could play with Max as well.

"Wow, I'm overwhelmed with all the attention I got" Blaine said and rolled his eyes as he saw her run away. Sam just smiled and pulled him in for a hug and a soft kiss that deepened just a tiny bit before they pulled apart.

"No need to stop for our sake" Noah chuckled as he walked into the room carrying a tray with coffee, lemonade and cookies. "Our kids are used to daddies kissing in the middle of the day."

"I bet they are" Sam smirked and sat down on the couch. "So, how's things going with…everything?" he asked quietly and glanced at Milo that played with the other kids.

"It's going really good" Noah answered. "It's not always easy, but we love having him here. He's such an awesome kid."

"He really is" Kurt agreed as he sat down next to his husband. "And we're planning the perfect Christmas" he said happily. "As it is the first one for him without his dad" he then added and they all went quiet for a second, watching the boy.

"You two are amazing" Blaine suddenly said and looked at them. "I don't know if I could do it. I mean, when he has to move out."

"Blaine…" Sam said as he saw Noah's and Kurt's sad eyes, and suddenly it was like Blaine realized what he had said.

"Oh, sorry…I just…I mean…"

"It's okay. We're aware that we're not his daddies." Kurt said and sighed. "We'll just have to treasure every day he's still with us."

* * *

The phone rang two days later.

"What? No, you can't do that!" Kurt screamed into the phone while Noah watched him with a confused expression. He had been talking for about ten minutes now, and he seemed to get more and more upset every minute he listened to whoever was on the other end.

"No! Are you crazy?" he said and pinched the bridge of his nose as a way to make himself calm down. "I don't care about what the judges decided. You can't send him back to her!" he said next and this sentence made Noah gasp for air. No, they couldn't do that, could they? That was insane!

Noah moved forward in an instant and soon he was hugging Kurt from behind, holding him up as he could feel him tremble with rage and worry.

"Calm down, honey" he whispered in his ear, but Kurt just shrugged him off and kept arguing with the person on the phone. He looked like he would burst into flames any second now and then he hung up and tossed the phone onto the couch and flopped down beside it with a defeated groan.

Noah watched this with worried eyes and a huge lump in his throat. He had a very bad feeling about this, and he didn't want Kurt to confirm it, so he kept quiet as he sat down next to his husband and pulled him into a hug. It took about two seconds from the moment that Noah wrapped his arms around Kurt until Kurt broke down and buried his face in his husband's shirt.

"They're sending him back to her" he simply said a few minutes later when he had managed to calm down enough to speak.

The world came crashing down and Noah felt himself falling. The last two months had been amazing, and Milo fitted perfectly into their family. The color was back on his cheeks and his eyes sparkled all the time now. The only thing worse than him moving out would be to break the news to him.

Of course they had known that a foster family placement would be temporary, but they had taken for granted that when he moved out, it would be to some amazing family that would adopt him; and not to that woman that had treated him so badly!

"Is it forever?" Noah finally managed to ask, and thankfully Kurt shook his head.

"No, but they have decided to let her try. Over Christmas…" he almost whispered the last part, and Noah wanted to cry. They had planned to give the boy a safe and happy Christmas as it was his first without his father. They had bought presents and gotten a sock to hang over the fireplace. They had even bought him the most amazingly cute outfit to wear. It would've been perfect.

"So we'll get him back after the holidays?" Noah asked with so much hope in his voice that Kurt started crying again while nodding. "Good" Noah simply said and allowed himself to breathe.

* * *

They had called Burt and Maggie and told them everything right away. Burt had sounded like he was crying, and he agreed to take the girls for a few hours so that they could speak to Milo in private.

"Milo, you know how you're living with us because your mother's been sick, right?" Kurt asked gently as he hugged the small boy closer to his side. The two of them and Noah was sitting on the couch and Milo´s eyes were wide with confusion as he nodded.

"Well, the doctors have made her better now. She's even started to learn some sign language for you" Kurt continued and tried to sound excited even though he rather break down and cry than explain this to Milo.

Noah was quiet beside them and Kurt gave him a firm glare as to ask for some help with this. It looked like it woke Noah up because he cleared his throat and turned his face to Milo.

"The thing is, kiddo, that Mrs. Finch and the others that placed you here with us has decided that your mother is healthy enough to take care of you, and she wants you with her over Christmas."

He said all this with a lump in his throat and had to force his tears not to fall. It wouldn't make anything easier if he started to cry now. Milo, on the other hand looked terrified and started to shake his head like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie" Kurt said and rubbed his back. He had told himself that millions of times for the last hours and he still had trouble believing it, but here he was, trying to convince Milo that it would, indeed be okay.

'Christmas?' Milo signed and his bottom lip started to tremble. 'Are you coming, too?'

The hopeful look in his eyes made Kurt's heart clench with sadness and he hugged the boy close to his chest so that he wouldn't see his tears. "No, we're not, honey. We can't. I promise you that if we were allowed, we would."

He could feel Milo shaking his head violently against his chest and he desperately met Noah's eyes over the boy's head. They looked at each other in panic as Milo continued to toss his head from side to side. Noah's hands rubbed circles on his thin back and Kurt stroked his curls in soothing motions, but nothing seemed to help. Suddenly Milo managed to get out of Kurt's arms and ran towards the hallway. They could hear a door slam shut and then there was silence.

"Oh…" Kurt said and stood up. He wiped his eyes furiously and cursed the tears that refused to stop falling. He quickly walked up to Milo's room and opened the door. The boy was on his bed, face down and buried into a pillow and his whole body shook as he cried.

"It will be okay" Kurt repeated and sat down next to him on the bed. Milo eventually turned around and his eyes were huge and shining with tears as they looked at him. "It's only for Christmas, and then you'll be right back here with us, I promise you that."

'For ever?' Milo signed and Kurt took a deep breath and chewed his bottom lip. Noah seemed to sense his hesitation, because he answered before Kurt could say something that wasn't true.

"We don't know, kiddo. We really want you to be here forever and ever, but we're not the ones to decide. Mrs. Finch and the judges do that, and we just have to trust that they know what's best. She's your mother, honey. Let's just meet her and then you'll come back to us again and we'll talk to Mrs. Finch again about what you thought about it, okay?"

Milo nodded with a bit of hesitation and Kurt reached out to wipe his thumbs under the boy's eyes to clean away the tears.

"It's just for a week, baby" Kurt said again and kissed his forehead. 'Just' a week was going to feel like a month, which he was painfully aware of, but this was the life of foster parents, and he suddenly realized that he never could have prepared himself for this.

"Aaand…" Noah began with a smile. "We'll send all your Christmas presents with you so that you can open them on Christmas Day just like we planned." He said with a huge smile, and Milo actually smiled a tiny smile for the first time since they sat down.

'Mommy's mean' he signed after a moment of silence and Kurt inhaled sharply as he saw the sincerity in the small boy's face. No kid should have to feel like this. He thought back to the story they had been told before meeting Milo for the first time. How they told them that she didn't feed him and left him alone in the park for hours. How she was drunk and mean and then he remembered that Milo had said that she never allowed him to hug her. It broke his heart into pieces when he thought about sending him back, but maybe she really had changed.

"She was sick, Milo" Noah started to explain, because that was what they had been told to say when Milo asked. It was too hard to explain alcoholism to a five year old. "But she's better now, and it will be different this time. Otherwise they wouldn't let her take care of you again."

He really hoped that it was true and closed his eyes for a second as he hugged the boy close to his chest and wrapped his big arms around him. He felt so small and fragile and he couldn't even bear the thought of someone hurting him; especially not his own mother.

'I'll miss you' Milo signed after Noah reluctantly let him go almost ten minutes later.

"We'll miss you, too, honey; every single day." Kurt forced himself to smile. "But this will be good for you and your mother. It will be good for you to have her back."

Kurt tried to keep himself from crying as he said that, because seriously, he had no idea how they would get through this Christmas without crying all the time. They had everything planned out from the pancakes for breakfast on Christmas Day to the presents, stockings and visits from both their families. Now there would be one person missing at every single occasion and it sucked big time. They had really wanted to give Milo a perfect Christmas as it was the first for him without his father, and now they had to rely on his mother for giving him that, and it just didn't feel like they could trust her.

* * *

The next thing was telling the girls. Burt picked up Milo as he dropped the girls off so that he wouldn't have to see their reactions. It would just be harder for him if he saw them cry and scream when they found out.

Maya didn't understand at first, but when she did, she started crying. Alice yelled, stomped the floor and tossed things across the room until Noah caught her and hugged her close until she broke down in tears. Then they just sat there on the floor in Alice' room and hugged each other.

"It will be okay" Kurt said again, and fuck, he was so damn tired of saying that when he didn't even believed it himself. "She's Milo's real mother, and he should meet her and spend some time with her."

They all nodded, but the girls still cried. "He's coming back? You promise?" Alice asked through her tears, and Noah nodded.

"That's what they told us. This is a test to see if Milo's mother is healthy enough to take care of him, and then he'll be back here while they decide where he should live" he explained to them and they looked confused even though they nodded.

When Milo got back they hugged him close and told him that they would miss him. That night they all slept in Kurt's and Noah's bed; unable to let go of each other. ¨

* * *

Three days before Christmas, Mrs. Finch rang their doorbell and smiled apologetically as Noah opened the door for her. Carol had cried when they told her what would happen, and she had picked up the girls earlier that morning. This would probably get ugly, and they didn't need to witness someone taking Milo away while he cried. No child should have to experience something like that.

"Hi" she said with a sad smile and watched how Noah clenched his jaw as he nodded and stepped aside to let her in. "Is he ready?"

"No, he's not" Noah simply said and eyed her with eyes that were filled with both sadness and anger. He knew that this wasn't her decision, but it didn't make him any less angry with her. He could see her cringe and took a deep breath and rubbed his neck. "I'm sorry, it's just…this isn't easy."

"I know it's not, Noah" she answered and her expression softened as she took in his slumped shoulders and sad smile. "The first time is always the hardest. I can tell you though that this is hard for me, too. I actually hate this part, but we strive to get every child back to their biological parents. I hope that you understand that they had to give her another chance."

Noah scoffed and turned around as he could hear Kurt walk into the hallway. He had Milo in his arms and didn't meet the woman's eyes as he tried to pry the boy's arms away from around his neck.

"Milo, sweetie, you have to let go of me. We'll see you in a week, okay?" he said as he gave his husband a pleading look that obviously asked for help. Noah slowly stepped forward and grabbed Milo around his waist and lifted him out of Kurt's arms. Milo immediately started to squirm and reached his arms out for Kurt to take him back. Noah could see that the parental instincts started to kick in as Kurt took a step closer, but Noah shook his head firmly and Kurt's arms fell back to his sides. It would only make it worse.

"It's gonna be okay, kiddo" Noah tried but he could see that Milo didn't believe him for one second. "We'll be here when you come back" he tried again and hugged him closer. The tiny boy in his arms felt so thin and small, and Noah hated the system when he thought about how they could just walk in and pull a small child like this up with its newly grown roots just to place him with a woman that he was terrified of. He couldn't even protest without them bringing an interpreter. It was pure craziness.

Milo shook his head violently as Noah tried to place him in Mrs. Finch's arms, and Kurt had to step in and pry him away from Noah while tears ran down all of their cheeks. They quickly tried to wipe them away before Milo could see them, but they didn't have to. The boy's eyes were shut so tightly that it looked painful and he trashed back and forward in the woman's arms as to force her to put him down. She didn't though. She just hushed him with a soothing voice and held him more firmly. It didn't help.

Thankfully, Kurt had already dressed him in his jacket and boots, because they would never in a million years be able to dress him in this state. The bag was packed and Mrs. Finch hefted it up on her shoulder with just a little bit of help from Noah. It was clear that this wasn't her first time doing this.

Suddenly something that none of them had expected happened. Milo started to scream. It was a scream that sent shivers along their spines and made their hearts clench. In the two months that he had lived with them, they had never heard him scream. He never made a sound, not even when he laughed. He laughed with his whole body, but it was completely silent, just like when he cried.

This was the total opposite though and when they met the shocked eyes of Susan Finch they understood that this was a first time for her as well. The terrified scream bounced against the walls and came back even more horrifying than before. Milo looked like he was going to have a panic attack and Kurt jumped forward to stroke his back and tell him to breathe.

"We're just gonna go" Mrs. Finch said before he could touch the boy and the devastated look on Kurt's face would never leave Noah's mind. She took a better hold of Milo and simply walked out of their house.

As soon as the door closed, Kurt fell to his knees and a sob wracked through his body as he hid his face in his hands. Noah could still hear the Milo's screams and his blood felt like it would turn to ice as the sound of a closing car door made it stop. The silence was almost worse than the screams. He slowly fell to his knees next to his husband and cradled him in his arms on the floor. They held on to each other as if their lives depended on it and Noah finally let his tears fall freely.

* * *

**Pleeease don't kill me, okay? I actually wrote this last part before I even wrote chapter 2, so I knew all along that this would happen. I have most of the next chapter planned out already, so you'll just have to trust me on this. Please review, It'll make my day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm so happy with all the reviews. Guess that someone taking Milo away woke you up, huh? Thanks to all of you who wrote them. You're amazing.** **This chapter contains some light smut, just so you know. Now let's get on with it, shall we? You've waited long enough (sorry for that).**

* * *

"Come on, Kurt. Get up" Noah said and stood up on shaky legs. He held out a hand for his husband to grab and when he did, he helped him up on his feet. They had been sitting on the floor for almost an hour, clinging to each other for dear life after Mrs. Finch walked out of their house with Milo.

The horrible sound of his screaming still rang in their ears and their cheeks were covered in now dry tear-tracks. The worst thing was that there was nothing they could do to change this. One week; seven days was usually no time at all, but right now it felt like a year before they would have the boy back.

"I don't…" Kurt started but choked on a sob. "I can't do this."

Noah pulled him into a hug and breathed in the scent of him before pulling away so their eyes could meet.

"Yes, you can" he said and tilted Kurt's head up when he tried to break their connection. "You can. _We_ can, because we don't have a choice. We'll get through this week and spend Christmas with our daughters, and then we'll be here, _smiling_, when he gets back."

He didn't know where these words came from, because that wasn't what he was feeling at all. Just like Kurt he wanted to curl up into a ball and force his brain to stop thinking about Milo's face and teary eyes as he screamed and held out his small hands for them to save him; and the worst part- how they had let him down.

Kurt walked on shaky legs into the kitchen and put the kettle on to make them some tea. He needed to hold onto something, even if it was just a mug of hot water. He felt drained of all emotions except sadness and he had to push it away before the girls got home, which would happen any minute now.

Noah poured the water over the tea, added some milk without thinking and slowly stirred the mixture as he sat down on the kitchen sofa on the opposite side from Kurt. Then the silence fell. None of them said a word as they sat and stared into their mugs while waiting for Carol and Eric to bring Alice and Maya home; the only two people that could keep them grounded in this.

The front door opened half an hour later and Noah's parents walked in with the girls clinging to their hands. They stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, looking shy and sad, which was very unusual. Normally they would've thrown themselves into their father's arms without hesitation, but now they just stood there and watched.

"Hi, girls" Noah said and stood up. It felt weird seeing them like this, but at the same time he knew that this had affected them as much as him and Kurt. "A hug?" he said with a smile and kneeled on the floor. Alice ran forward and threw herself into his arms and he quickly hugged her close.

Maya stood where she stood with her small hand in Carole's, looking like she wanted to do the same but didn't know if she could. Kurt took three long steps towards her and the moment he opened his arms she was in them. "Hi, baby" he whispered into her hair and felt her tiny arms wrap around his neck. He met Carole and Eric's concerned faces and had to bite his lower lip to not start crying again.

"Is Milo gone?" Alice asked with a small voice a few minutes later and everyone's attention was on Noah when he nodded. She hid her face in his shirt again and Kurt could see her small back shake as she cried.

"He's with his mommy" Maya said and Kurt nodded. "He'll be back after Christmas, right Grandma?"

"Yes, honey. He will" Carole agreed and stroked her hair. "Are you okay?" she continued and turned her attention to Noah and Kurt who did some sort of mix between a nod and a headshake.

"Thanks for taking care of them" Noah said as he stood up with Alice still in his arms. "It was definitely the right choice."

"That bad, huh?" Eric asked, but he didn't get an answer. It wasn't needed anyway because the expressions on their faces said enough. He shivered and wrapped his arms around his wife. "Just tell us if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah" Noah answered. "But I think we'll need some time alone; just the four of us right now. We'll just see you all in a couple of days. It is Christmas after all and we won't miss that."

"Santa will come, right?" Maya asked and smiled when they all nodded. "Will he come to Milo as well?"

"Of course he will, baby. He's been good, right?" Kurt smiled and she nodded eagerly.

* * *

The girls fell asleep between their dads that night; the four of them cuddled tight in the middle of the bed. They talked about Milo a lot, needing the girls to really understand what was happening right now and why Milo was with his mother and not with them. Of course they had talked about this before, but new questions seemed to pop up all the time. They were just kids after all, and this was really confusing to them.

Noah could see Kurt trying desperately to hold back his tears through it all, and when the girls finally fell asleep he carried them into their own beds to be able to hold him. The moment he crawled back into bed and cuddled Kurt to his chest, he broke down into sobs.

"Please, just hold me, Noah" Kurt sobbed and buried his face in the soft spot where his neck met his shoulder. Noah could feel the wetness as Kurt's tears fell onto his skin and it made him shiver and hug him closer to his chest.

"I'm right here, honey. I won't go anywhere" he whispered into Kurt's hair as he stroked his back. Seeing Kurt like this always made him feel almost nauseous because he felt so helpless when he desperately tried to make him calm down and breathe properly.

"It's not close enough" Kurt whined and cuddled closer, even if he already was plastered against Noah's warm body. "I want you."

"What…?" Noah asked in confusion, but then he felt Kurt press his crotch closer to his hip and sighed. "No" he said firmly. "I won't do that while you're this upset. It's not right."

Kurt whined and inhaled sharply against his collarbone as a sob ripped through his body. "But I need this. I need you closer!" he whined again and his hands started to pull Noah's boxers down.

"Stop. Kurt." Noah sighed and grabbed his hand to remove it before Kurt managed to get his underwear off. "We're not doing this. You're upset, I get it, but…no…" he whispered and forced Kurt to meet his eyes. The sight that met him made his heart ache because Kurt's eyes were huge and teary and so sad that Noah probably would do anything to make him happy. He never could stand up against that and he knew it.

"But I need you…" Kurt sobbed again and bit his lower lip as he sniffed. "I need to feel you as close to me as you can get. I need to know that you're here. With me."

Noah closed his eyes for a minute and inhaled deeply. He too had a strong urge to be close to Kurt right now, but this was probably a bad idea, right? They shouldn't use sex to wipe away the sadness over a lost child. There was so much wrong with that, but yet he couldn't stop himself when Kurt moved over onto his back, wiggled out of his underwear and slowly spread his legs while looking at him with those big sad eyes.

"Please, Noah?" he whispered and let his hand travel over Noah's arm and up to his shoulder. "Please…please…" he sobbed and wiped away the tears that ran steadily from his eyes and down over his cheeks to his lips and chin.

Noah swallowed and then leaned in to kiss his lips. They tasted like salt from Kurt's tears and suddenly he felt what Kurt felt. The urge to be as close as he could possibly get to his husband overtook him and he yanked his own boxers off without letting go of Kurt's mouth for a second.

Quick preparation followed and then he gently slid inside of Kurt's body and lay down on top of him while Kurt's legs came up to wrap around his thighs and hold him close. Noah's arms were under and around Kurt's back, and it was probably not comfortable but none of them could seem to care about that right now. They just needed to hold each other.

"Move" Kurt whispered and that did it. He slowly rocked back and forth and suddenly realized that this was nothing like their regular lovemaking or heated fucking. This was about closeness and comfort and he had to admit that the way Kurt's body hugged him took away some of the pain. He also knew that it would come back even worse when this was over, but he just couldn't seem to care right now. Moving back and forth was everything he needed to think about right now, and if he cried like a baby into Kurt's neck while doing it, so be it.

It was over way too quickly and as they laid there sticky and sweaty, Kurt stopped him when he tried to pull out. "Please stay" he said and Noah didn't even have the strength to argue with him. He just rolled them so that Kurt was on top and stroked his back.

"I should've known that I wouldn't be able to do this" Kurt whispered a while later.

"Do what?"

"Handle them taking him away" Kurt confessed with his face still buried in Noah's chest. "I suck at this foster parent thing."

"Hey... I don't ever wanna hear you say that again, honey. You've been amazing these last couple of months." Noah said and tilted Kurts chin up to meet his eyes.

"But I want to keep him forever, and that's not how it's supposed to be" Kurt said and Noah had no answer to that. He just continued to stroke Kurt's back as he fell asleep, completely drained from crying and having really emotional sex. Under Kurt's weight he thought about Milo and he forced himself to picture the small boy in a nice room, being tucked in by his mother that read him stories and kissed him goodnight just like they would've done if he was still here. The pictures in his head managed to place a small smile onto his face just before he fell asleep.

* * *

Kurt woke up almost two hours later, feeling guilty for persuading Noah to have sex with him. The thing was that he didn't even know why he did it. He just needed something to hold onto and for someone to hold onto him as he cried. He placed a small kiss on Noah's forehead as he realized that his soft cock was still inside of him and then he gently moved off of him and walked out of the room.

Ten minutes later he walked out of the bathroom, cleaned up and with a warm washcloth in his hand. He wiped his husband off and covered him with the sheets before walking out again. He checked on Alice that tossed and turned in her bed while holding on to her stuffed dog like life depended on it. He knew that feeling all too well and stayed beside her and watched her calm down as he stroked her hair. Then he kissed he forehead, whispered "I love you" and continued to check on Maya.

The urge to see that his girls were okay tonight was something he couldn't ignore, and he breathed out in relief when he saw Maya splayed out like always; arms and legs everywhere and the covers on the floor as usual. He tucked her in carefully so that she wouldn't be cold and repeated the procedure he did with Alice before leaving her.

Milo's room was way too empty when he opened the door and looked inside. Of course he knew that it would be empty, but it still felt like being punched in the stomach. He sat down on the bed and stroked the covers as he let his eyes travel over the green walls and the line of small cars that stood on the desk. Milo hadn't wanted them with him so they stood there, abandoned, just like Kurt felt.

"Dad?" A small voice pulled him out of his mind and he stared at Alice that stood in the doorway and watched him with large eyes. The stuffed dog was pressed against her chest and she had her nose buried in its fur.

"Hi, sweetie. Why aren't you asleep?" he asked and realized that it was a stupid question. Why wasn't _he _asleep?

"I woke up and I thought about Milo, and I had to see if it was a dream or for real."

Kurt opened his arms to his daughter and a second later she had thrown herself into them. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her as close as he could without hurting her. "It's for real, baby."

"But I don't want it to be. I miss him" she said in her usual stubborn way, but he could sense her sadness through it all.

"I know. We all miss him, but it's just for a week, and we'll celebrate Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and your aunts and uncles and cousins and everyone, so the time will fly by. I promise you, he'll be back in no time." _Yeah, keep saying it, and maybe it'll be true._

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" Alice asked after a while, and Kurt remembered that Noah was naked in their bed after that weird lovemaking and shook his head.

"How about we sleep in here?" he suggested instead and saw a smile spread on her lips. "That way we can be as close to Milo as possible. Here, get in." he said and held up the covers for her to climb in. Then he lied down next to her and felt her cuddle close. Her curls tickled his neck and chin, but for once he didn't move them away. He just burrowed his face in it and inhaled. Soon they were both asleep.

* * *

Susan Finch had a bad feeling. She had followed Milo Adams from the first time he came in contact with the system and she was the one that had placed him in his mother's care one rainy morning in March, almost nine months ago. At first it had looked like Mrs. Adams didn't want anything to do with her son, but it soon became clear that she ignored him because the signing made her uncomfortable. She had been given an interpreter and the opportunity to take some ASL classes and it went a bit more smoothly after that.

Susan knew, of course, that it would take some time for the woman to get used to having a child in her home again and she gave both her and Milo some time to adjust before coming back to check on them.

The check-up had been good. Milo had been well-behaved but a little shy, and the mother had been polite. It seemed to be okay. But then, a few months later, in early August, Milo had fallen down from a tree in the park and been brought to the hospital by ambulance. The woman that had called 911 had told them that he seemed to be there alone, and the hospital had contacted the social services when he arrived there.

A five year old shouldn't be in the park alone and especially not that far away from home. Fortunately, nothing was broken, and Milo had just gotten a few nasty bruises. That wasn't what concerned the doctors the most though. There seemed to be a much more serious problem.

The boy was under-weighted and looked so tired that the nurses had immediately reacted. The worst thing though was that he refused to meet their eyes and trembled when they mentioned his mother. Something was clearly wrong. They did a physical exam but were relieved when there was no sign of abuse other than the fact that he looked starved and really shy.

Susan had been involved again, and the boy that she met in that hospital bed made her chest ache. He looked nothing like the boy she had visited only a couple of months ago, and it broke her heart.

Mrs. Adams had sounded surprised when they called her from the hospital. She had dropped Milo off at the park before going to the store, and then simply "forgot" to pick him up before heading home. It soon came to their knowledge that she was a bit of an alcoholic, which no one knew about. She temporarily lost custody while being forced into a program that would get her back on her feet.

Here started the long journey to find a place where they could place a small mute boy in need of someone that knew ASL.

In the end, after two months in a regular foster family that didn't understood him, Susan had found the Hummel-Puckerman's like a miracle, and the boy were soon laughing again.

And now, two months later, they were here again…

She had dropped Milo off at his mother's only six hours ago, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. During her fifteen years as a social worker, this day had been one of the worst. The unexpected screaming that came from Milo and the tears on the two men's faces had almost been too much for her to handle, but she didn't have a choice. The judges made the choices and she just had to follow.

Mrs. Adams had greeted them with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes and Milo had immediately hid behind Susan's legs while refusing to look at his mother. The interpreter was with them, and Susan had left them with a quiet promise to Milo that she would pick him up a week from today. The huge tear-filled dark eyes were impossible to forget though and Susan found herself crying silently into her teacup as she sat on her couch. This was going to be a tough week.

* * *

Milo Adams didn't understand what he was doing here with the woman that everybody called his mother.

The only thing he knew about her was from the five months he lived with her after his daddy died, but she hadn't given him much attention and he had been so sad from the loss of his dad to try. He just needed someone to hold him and tell him that everything would be okay, but she just ignored him or told him to behave and stop acting like a child.

Well, he was a child, wasn't he? His daddy always told him that anyway, and he was never wrong as far as Milo knew.

K and N had told him that his mother wasn't sick anymore, and he wondered what that meant. Had she been sick before? When you were sick you were supposed to be in bed with a fever and stay home from school or work, but she had seemed perfectly fine when he last lived here. Sure, she was mean all the time, but she hadn't been sick. Okay, sometimes she seemed dizzy and sometimes she fell asleep on the couch, but she didn't seem _sick_. He didn't understand. She seemed to behave exactly the same as before.

So here he was, sitting at the kitchen table, eating some spaghetti and thinking that K's was way better than this. He also didn't like drinking juice so he had asked her for some milk, but she didn't even look at him as he signed. They had told him that she had learned how to sign, but she didn't seem to understand him at all. Or maybe she didn't want to. Instead he lowered his head and tried to spin the spaghetti around his fork like Alice had taught him and quickly wiped away a tear before his mother could see it. He didn't want her to get angry. He knew how that would end, and he had no wish to sleep on the floor with a hungry stomach. Not tonight.

Instead he ate his food quickly and then sat there and waited for her to tell him that he could leave. The previous months with K and N had not made him forget how the rules worked in this house, so he stayed put and drank his juice even though he had trouble swallowing it. He would behave, just like she always told him to.

"You can leave if you're finished" she said coldly ten minutes later and Milo slowly stood up. "And clean up after yourself" she added and he did. Of course he did. He knew that you were supposed to take your plate and your glass with you from the table. His dad taught him that years ago, so he balanced them away from the table, and just as he was about to place them on the kitchen counter the glass fell and exploded into what seemed like a million pieces on the floor. Milo stood like frozen, scared to move and step onto one of the sharp pieces. The same thing had happened some weeks ago and Noah had told him that it was okay and gently lifted Milo out from the kitchen and told him to stay there until it was cleaned up so that he wouldn't get hurt.

"What are you doing?!" was the reaction he got from his mother. "Are you incapable of holding a simple glass now as well?"

Milo didn't know what 'incaplable' or what it was, meant, but he guessed that it was bad. He lowered his head and signed 'I'm sorry', but she didn't seem to care.

"You're cleaning that up before you go to bed."

Milo looked up, shocked. How was he supposed to clean this up? He didn't know how to do it. He didn't even have shoes on, and there was glass everywhere. He looked around him with wide eyes and glanced up at him mother, to see if she was joking. She was gone.

Silently he started to cry. He had no idea what to do, but he leaned down and gently picked a sharp piece up from the floor and placed it on the counter. This was his fault after all. Then he took another one, and another one. Some of them were so small that he barely could see them, but he felt them as he stepped on them. He decided not to cry and slowly worked his way across the floor, placing more and more pieces onto the counter. When it looked like the floor was clean, he wiped all the pieces into the trash can and went to bed.

Unpacking his bag brought a sad smile onto his face. He found a picture of himself tucked in between K and N with Alice and Maya making goofy faces, and next to it was Alice's monkey; the one that she had placed on his bed when he arrived there. He hugged it to his chest along with his polar bear and closed his eyes for a second. Moving to the bathroom he realized that he couldn't reach the toothpaste so he brushed his teeth with just water, then used the toilet and changed into his pajamas. His feet hurt a bit, probably from the glass, but he couldn't do anything about it so he simply crawled under the covers and closed his eyes. He didn't see his mother again that night, and for the first time in four months he fell asleep without bedtime stories or kisses.

* * *

The next two days passed by slowly in the Hummel-Puckerman household. They prepared the house for Christmas, baked cookies, watched movies and just enjoyed being together. Every now and then the girls talked about Milo, and they still signed every word they knew as they talked.

The whole family had gotten so used to this, so they didn't even realized they still did it when he was gone. Of course they didn't have to sign at all, because there was no problem with Milo's hearing, but it was an easy way to learn the language. It was easier to understand him if you used it yourself.

Kurt smiled for himself when he saw his oldest daughter's hands move as she spoke.

"Daddy, can we have cookies?" she asked and signed 'Daddy' and 'cookies' as she said it. Only Kurt knew how to bind the words into sentences, but Noah and the girls knew a lot of words. Kurt could almost not believe how much they learned in just a little over two months. It was incredible.

"No cookies before dinner, sweetheart" Noah said back and kissed the tip of her nose as he walked by her. She stood on a chair by the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables while he cooked. "You know that rule. But if you're good, then maybe you can have one after we've eaten."

"Really?" she said and jumped a bit up and down.

"Hey, careful there, baby. You don't wanna fall down." Noah said and placed a hand on her back.

"You think Milo's cooking dinner as well?" Alice asked next and Noah hummed.

"Yeah, probably. It is almost dinnertime after all" he said and fell silent. He really wanted to know how things worked out over at Milo's mother's house, but Mrs. Finch had told him that she was giving them a couple of days to get to know each other before she visited. Noah thought that was an absolutely stupid idea, but he had no say in this and it drove him crazy. He had made her promise to stop by before Christmas and tomorrow was Christmas Eve, so he hoped that she would keep her promise. Until then he just had to keep himself calm and try not to worry too much.

* * *

Christmas Eve started with a massive luxurious breakfast that Kurt made every year, and this year Burt and Maggie decided to come over as well. They all ate while talking and laughing. Burt made funny mouths with the orange slices that made the girls laugh hysterically and Kurt to roll his eyes. His dad was such a goofball when it came to the kids. When Kurt was young he had been all about 'Don't play with your food, kiddo' but now it suddenly was allowed. Why was it that made grandparent's always do things like that?

The day followed in the lazy tracks. They stayed in their sweatpants and cuddled together on the couch to watch some movies in the light from the Christmas tree. It was almost perfect.

* * *

Mrs. Finch was on her way to the Adams house. She had gotten a worried phone call from Noah Hummel-Puckerman yesterday and had explained to him that they always gave the family a few days to adjust before visiting, but promised to do it before Christmas.

Today was Christmas Eve and Milo had been with his mother for three days. She had kind of a bad feeling when she drove up to the house unannounced but decided to keep it to herself. She could be wrong after all. She hurried up the driveway in the cold. This Christmas was freezing and snow already covered the ground as more kept falling from the sky.

It only took a minute before the door opened and Mrs. Adams invited her in while looking surprised.

"Hello, Mrs. Adams" she said with her biggest smile. "I'm here to see how you're doing. We usually make unannounced visits as I explained earlier. Can I come in?"

Susan knew that she should have an interpreter with her, but the lady had gotten sick yesterday and she couldn't find another one with such short notice. After all, a visit without an interpreter was better than no visit at all, right?

"So, where's Milo?" she asked and looked around the house that showed no signs of a child living there.

"In his room. I'll get him for you." Mrs. Adams said with a smile and disappeared. Susan got a feeling that the smile was fake, but she couldn't prove it, so she stayed put and waited. Five minutes went by before the woman walked back in with a firm grip on Milo's right hand.

"Hi, Milo" Susan said and smiled at the boy. He looked at her for a second and then he lowered his head again. Yeah, well, maybe she wasn't his favorite after carrying him screaming out of the Hummel-Puckerman house earlier this week, but something still made her stomach clench.

"So, how is it going?" she asked and looked at the pair. Milo sat perfectly still on the couch with his hand still in his mothers.

"We're doing fine, aren't we, Milo?" Mrs. Adams said and watched her son nod. "Yes, we are."

"I'm happy to hear that" Susan said and smiled. She asked the woman a few more things and the answers gave her no reason to worry. "You wanna show me your room, Milo?" she asked half an hour later and watched how Milo waited for his mother's nod before jumping down from his chair and waving at Susan to follow him.

Susan had of course seen the room before, but this was what she normally did when she wanted to talk to the child alone. She couldn't talk to Milo without an interpreter, but she had decided to give him questions that he could answer 'yes' or 'no' to.

"So, are you okay with being here, Milo?" she asked when they both sat down on his bed. He looked shy but nodded. He knew that this was his chance to go back to K and N, but his mother had told him to behave and to only say good things about her. He wasn't allowed to talk about the bottles that he had found yesterday because they were only regular lemonade for adults. _He didn't want them to hate his own mother, right?_

So he nodded every time Susan asked him if he got good food or bedtime stories, and nodded when she asked him if his mother understood him when he signed, even though she didn't even looked at him most of the time.

He could sense his mother outside the door but forced his eyes to look at Susan as she smiled.

"I'm so happy that this seems to work out" she said as she shook their hands before leaving. "But I'll be back in a couple of days anyways. It's standard procedure" she added when Mrs. Adams looked like she wanted to discuss it.

She drove home in silence. Everything had seemed good, but still there was something nagging into the back of her head. Milo had almost seemed too polite, and she couldn't shake the feeling that Mrs. Adams only smiled with her mouth and not with her eyes. She sighed and shook the feeling away. Maybe she was just being silly, but it seemed kind of strange that Milo had settled down so quickly after his breakdown only three days ago.

At ten pm that night she got a phone call and her whole body froze for a second while she listened to the person on the other end. Then she hung up, threw on her coat and jumped into her car. This wasn't happening…

* * *

**A/N: Oh-oh... what's happening? Please tell me what you think. I love every single review. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi! Sorry if this took too long. I had the whole chapter in my head, but it wouldn't come out right when I wrote it down. I still don't know if I'm happy with it, but here it is anyways. **

**Btw, thanks for all the amazing reviews. I haven't responded to all of them, but I tell you now that every single one put goofy smiles on my face. You're all too kind to me. :)**

* * *

"I really miss him" Kurt whispered so quietly that Noah almost didn't hear him. They sat on the couch, Kurt nestled up against his side like they often did after the girls had fallen asleep and they needed some time on their own. Christmas Eve were almost over; only an hour left until they would be forced to spend Christmas Day without the boy they had planned it with.

Noah felt his heart sink as Kurt's words hit him with the force of a speeding truck, and tightened his hold on his husband.

"I know. Me too" he whispered into Kurt's soft hair and sighed. The room turned silent for a few minutes as they just held each other, lost in their own thoughts. Then Kurt broke the silence.

"You know what I miss the most?" he asked and suddenly smiled. "I miss how those tiny fingers form a small 'K' when he wants my attention."

Noah chuckled and couldn't hold back his own smile. "I know. It always makes me feel like someone out of the Men in Black."

"Exactly!" Kurt laughed against his chest and they both fell quiet again. They had been so happy when Milo finally had decided what he wanted to call them. They knew that he didn't want to call them 'Daddy' or something like that, because that was the name of his real father, even if he was no longer with him physically.

"I hope he's okay" Noah said a few minutes later and Kurt felt himself unable to reply. Instead he just nodded and buried himself even deeper into Noah's strong embrace.

* * *

Susan Finch drove too fast for it to be legal, but right now she couldn't care less.

As she turned right onto the street where Mrs. Adams lived she thought back to the phone call she received only twenty minutes earlier. Her boss had been on the other line, telling her that a neighbor had found Milo sitting outside the Adam's house on the porch without a jacket in the freezing snowstorm. Susan cringed in her seat as she thought about it. She couldn't help to think that she had failed that little boy. Again.

She parked the car in Mrs. Adams driveway and looked around. A police car stood outside the house to the left and she quickly got out and locked the car behind her as she ran up to the house. Just as she was about to knock, the door opened from the inside by a young police man carrying a bundle of blankets from which a mop of dark curls stuck out.

"Oh my god…" Susan whispered and clasped a hand over her mouth. She felt like she wanted to fall down onto her knees and cry her eyes out. But of course she didn't do that. She had years of training that had taught her how to behave like a professional and she forced herself to introduce herself with a somewhat steady voice.

She learned that no one knew how long Milo had been on that porch and that he needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible so that they could check him out. He was apparently way too cold for it to be healthy.

"Where's his mother?" she asked coldly and let her eyes move to the red house on their right side where her car stood parked. The house was dark and no one seemed to be in there.

"At the station with my colleagues. They took her in as soon as we got there. I don't know much, but apparently she thought that he needed a punishment for being a 'naughty boy'" he answered and shook his head. She could see that his hold on the boy tightened just a tiny bit as he said it and it made her feel good.

"There's no chance you happen to have a car seat, are there?" he asked a minute later as they walked out of the house.

"Yes! I do!" Susan said immediately. "I drive kids around all the time, so I have a couple of them in my backseat to make things easier" She said, happy to be able to help in any way possible. "Maybe I can take him to the hospital?" she suggested. "That way we won't have to move the car seat."

The police man nodded and gently lifted Milo into the car. The small boy didn't even seem to stir as he buckled him in.

"You're sure he's okay?" Susan asked; the worry evident in the voice.

"Well, he's not _okay_, but he will be" he said. "I want him checked out as soon as possible though. We called an ambulance, but they had some huge accident on the highway, so I decided to drive him myself. He needs to get his body temperature back to normal."

He sighed and rubbed his neck. "I hate this" he continued. "Stuff involving small innocent kids, I mean. I don't know how you do it."

"Me neither sometimes." Susan answered and sighed. "But the joy of bringing them into safety weighs up for it, I guess," she said and climbed into her car. "You'll follow me, right?"

He just nodded and when she passed the neighbor's house she could see him starting his car and pulling out behind her.

The way to the hospital was only a fifteen minutes' drive, but the words she said earlier kept ringing in her ears. '_Bringing them into safety' _she thought. _Yeah, you're doing a hell of a job with that, don't you?_

Milo's eyes were closed when they reached the hospital, and she quickly lifted him out of the car and into her arms. She felt so small, even though he was wrapped in at least three blankets. The snow was still falling as they walked up to the hospital entrance followed by the police. Small white flakes landed on Milo's dark curls and she took a better hold on him and managed to pull the blankets up so that they covered his hair. Her hand ghosting over his cheek told her that he was way too cold for it to be healthy so she sped up her steps.

A small nurse met them just inside the doors; having got a phone call from the police earlier telling her that Milo would come in. She directed them into a small room and gestured for Susan to place him on the white bed.

A doctor scrambled into the room a few minutes later and quickly listened to Milo's heart and lungs before covering him up with the blankets again and watching the people in the room over his glasses.

"Nurse Jane, will you make sure that this boy gets a few more heating blankets and something warm to drink or eat. He needs to get his body temperature up. And check his vitals, will you? I wanna make sure that there isn't something else going on as well. I'll be back soon." He nodded his goodbyes and headed out the door again.

"Wow, that was quick" Susan said coldly and returned her attention to Milo. His lips were a light blue color and his skin was paler than usual where he laid on the bed.

"Yes, well, he can't say anything else before we know if there's something else as well. I'll draw some blood and check his blood pressure while we try to warm him up. Is there anyone you want me to call? His parents maybe?"

Oh, okay… Susan thought. So the police didn't tell her any details when they called.

"Umm…no, it's because of his mother that he's here in the first place" she answered and heard the nurse inhale as her eyes widened. "I'm his social worker."

"Oh" she simply said and tucked the new blankets tighter around Milo's body. "So, where's he going when he's okay again?"

Susan had been so caught up in getting Milo to the hospital that she didn't even think about that. Of course there were people out there that would want to know about what was happening with Milo.

"I'm gonna make a phone call. Is that okay?" she asked and saw the nurse nod. "I'll be back in a minute. Please don't leave him alone while I'm gone."

* * *

The phone rang just before midnight in the Hummel-Puckerman household. They had just fallen asleep and Kurt didn't even stir at first as Noah reached out for the phone on his bedside table.

"It's Noah" he mumbled into the phone and froze when he heard the voice on the other end. "What!?"

"What's happening?" Kurt mumbled from his side of the bed and slowly sat up to watch his husband's horrified expression.

"Yeah, of course. Where are you?" Noah said into the phone and suddenly stood up. With the phone between his ear and shoulder, he quickly grabbed his pants and tried to put them on without falling over. "Yeah…yeah…we'll be right there. Okay…bye…"

"Noah? What's happening?" Kurt asked again, his eyes wide with fear.

"Call your dad and put your clothes on. Milo's in the hospital. We need to go. Now."

"What?" Kurt said confused. This couldn't be happening, right?

"Get your dad here now, Kurt!" Noah raised his voice, but he couldn't care less. He was just so scared and stressed right now. "We have to go!"

Kurt finally came to his senses and made a quick phone call to Burt who promised to be there as soon as possible. _Ten minutes, tops._

Kurt and Noah were already out on the porch when Burt came running up to the house, panting for air. It was lucky he lived so close to them, otherwise one of them would have had to stay behind.

"Dad! Be careful with your heart" Kurt yelled, but Burt just waved him off.

"Go. I'll be here until you get back. Make sure that you text or call me so that I know he's okay."

"We will" Kurt said and gave him a quick hug before jumping in the car. As soon as he closed the door, Noah drove them out of the driveway and towards the hospital.

"Who called?" Kurt finally asked as they drove. He suddenly realized that he knew absolutely nothing about what was going on.

"Mrs. Finch" Noah said through gritted teeth. "First she takes him away from us, and then she places him with a woman that leaves him out in the snow without a jacket at ten PM on Christmas Eve. That's so fucked up."

"What?" Kurt only managed to say.

"This is crazy. He should've stayed with us. Then he would've been fine now."

Kurt could see Noah clenching his jaws and tightening his hold on the steering wheel as he said it and he knew that he was right.

"Is he okay?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer, but he had to know anyway.

"She thought so. He's really cold though." He lifted his right hand and punched the steering wheel. "How the fuck can you do something like that to your own kid!?" he yelled and Kurt placed a soft hand on his thigh to calm him down. He was driving after all and they wouldn't be to any use if they ended up in the hospital as well.

"I don't know, honey" he said with his softest voice. He leaned over and let his head fall onto Noah's shoulder as he hugged him from the side. "But we'll take care of him now. I'm guessing that the police are involved, so he won't be getting back to her anytime soon. He'll stay with us. And we'll love him with all of our hearts, okay?"

Noah sighed and relaxed a little bit. "Yeah, I guess. It's just that… I can't understand."

"I know. Me neither. Some people shouldn't have had kids in the first place." Kurt sighed and looked out at the hospital on the right side of the car. "Let's go inside and hug him until he's warm enough to come home with us."

* * *

"Hi, we're here for Milo Adams. Can you show us where he is?" Kurt asked the nurse at the reception desk as soon as they entered the hospital.

"Are you his father?" the nurse asked and watched him with a smile that was everything but friendly.

"Well…no, but…"

"Then I can't help you." She broke the eye contact and turned all her attention back to the computer in front of her which made Kurt speechless. That was more than a little rude.

"But, my husband and I got a phone call from Mrs. Finch, the social worker…" he tried, and as the word 'husband' slipped out of his mouth he could see her watching them more closely; her disgusted expression making Kurt feel nauseous.

"Okay, lady" Noah said as he stepped up to the desk. "Here's the thing. There's a scared and hurt five year old in here that needs our help. We're his foster family, and you don't have to worry about his biological parents to show up here any time soon, so just point us in the right direction or get us one of your colleagues so that we can get some damn help!"

Kurt could see that the worry and anger that showed itself in the car blossomed up again and he gently pulled Noah away from the desk before he could do something they would have to regret later.

Another nurse walked by a minute later and Kurt jogged after her through the hallway and got her to show them the way. They were led to a light green corridor and left outside room 312.

"Oh, thank god you're here!" a voice said from behind them and they turned around to meet the worried expression of Mrs. Susan Finch.

"Yeah, of course we are. Can we see him?" Noah said and stood there, looking from her to the closed door, impatiently shifting from one foot to another.

"Yes, but I wanted to fill you in on what happened first" she explained and pointed at a few chairs with a questioning look. "I think he's asleep anyway, and there's a nurse with him."

"Make it quick" Kurt said as he sat down on the edge of the seat and saw Noah nod in agreement.

"Well, I visited them earlier today, or actually it was yesterday…" she started and looked at her clock that was now almost one AM. "And they seemed fine. And then I got a phone call around ten. A neighbor had seen Milo sitting on the porch in just his pants and a thin shirt while it was snowing heavily and freezing cold."

Kurt gripped Noah's hand when he heard that and felt Noah stiffen beside him.

"She knew a thing or two about Mrs. Adams, so she didn't hesitate. She ran over there, grabbed Milo, took him home and called the police that called my boss… who called me."

She watched them with a sad smile and lowered her head. "I hate times like this" she confessed. "We always strive to get children to live with their biological parents, but sometimes it's not…"

"A good decision?" Noah ended the sentence for her and watched her sigh and nod.

"Unfortunately, no" she said and stood up.

"Mrs. Finch?" a young man in a nurse uniform stood outside Milo's door. "He keeps doing some signs that I can't understand. I'm no interpreter, you know. One looks kind of like a peace sign and the other one is more like a fist." He looked confused, but large smiles grew on Kurt and Noah's faces when they heard it. Milo signing 'K' and 'N' filled their hearts with warmth and they couldn't wait to get in there and hold him.

"And that's our cue to leave" Noah said and stood up. "Something we should think of when we walk in there?"

"No, not really. He's still shivering and needs to get his body temperature up, but other than that he seems fine. Yeah, if you could get him to eat something then that would be perfect."

Noah opened the door and walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks just a few steps inside of the door which led Kurt to bump right into him as he followed. The room was almost empty, except for the small bundle covered in blankets on the bed.

A rustle of stiff sheets woke them up of their trance, and they both took the last few steps to the bed, gripping each other's hands tightly. Noah gently lowered the blankets and was met by a pair of large terrified eyes that he knew so well.

"Hi, sweetie" Kurt said immediately and was rewarded with a tired smile. He lifted Milo into his arms and held him as firmly as he could without hurting him. He needed to make sure that he knew that they were here. A small hand landed against his throat as Milo cuddled up against his chest and Kurt shivered from the chills it sent through his body. "Wow, you're really cold, aren't you, baby?" he asked concerned and kissed the mop of curls that pressed against his chin.

He held the small boy for ten minutes or so while Noah sat next to him on the bed and rubbed his hands up and down Milo's legs and feet. Then an idea hit him.

"Noah, take off your shirt" he said and watched his husband raise his eyebrows in confusion. "You wanna sit with Noah for a while, sweetie?" he whispered to Milo and watched him nod. "He's way hotter than me."

Noah snorted and lifted an eyebrow as to say 'Really? Now, Kurt?' and Kurt rolled his eyes but couldn't hold back his smile. Noah sat down on the bed shirtless and Kurt removed the blankets and took Milo's shirt off as well.

'No. Cold' Milo signed when Kurt pulled it off, but when Noah lifted him onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him, he actually sighed and smiled a little bit. Pressed against Noah's warm chest, the boy seemed to relax a little bit and Kurt tucked the blankets back up around him and Noah before sitting down next to them. The thing was that Noah always seemed to radiate heat to the extent that Kurt often moved away from him during the night because he became too hot.

"He's so cold" Noah mouthed to Kurt and tried to relax even though Milo's cold skin sent shivers down his spine every time he moved.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Jones" a man said as he walked into the room half an hour later with a big smile on his face. "That looks cozy" he added when he saw Milo that had fallen asleep a few minutes after Noah wrapped his arms around him. It was almost like he had waited until they got there before allowing himself to let go for real. Now his right cheek were pressed against Noah's chest and his mouth were half open as he snored quietly while Noah's hand slowly carded through his curls.

"Yeah, my husband has a lot of body heat" Kurt chuckled. "He can stand to share."

"That's good. I was just gonna tell you that everything else looks fine. His blood sugar level is a bit low, so I would like to see him eat something before he leaves, but other than that I can't see a problem for you to take him home in the morning. Just keep an eye out if he starts to cough of gets a fever. Then I suggest that you contact your regular doctor for a check-up."

"Oh, that sounds good. We'll definitely do that" Kurt agreed and shook his hand as he walked out. Then he turned around and smiled at Noah. "We can take him home. On Christmas Day" he said and almost bounced in his seat.

"Well, it won't be as we planned, but at least he's gonna be with us" Noah said and hugged Milo closer.

"Yeah. I wanna hold him" Kurt whispered and bit his lip. He knew that Milo was better off pressed against Noah right now, but his hands itched to hold him. These past three, almost four days had been awful, and Kurt felt his eyes tear up as he watched the small boy in his husband's arms.

"I know, honey, but he's still too cold. Hey, look…" he said when he saw Kurt's bottom lips start to tremble. "I'll hold him tonight, and tomorrow when we get home, you can hold him all day long. Okay?"

Kurt nodded, but moved closer on the bed so that he at least could hug Milo from the side. He rubbed his back through the blankets and leaned in to kiss his head. "We love you, sweetie" he whispered and closed his eyes as Noah placed a small kiss on his forehead.

They fell asleep like that. All three of them on the bed, curled up together until a nurse woke them up for their morning rounds. Milo was way warmer than earlier but seemed sleepy and weak as they made him eat some oatmeal and drink some hot chocolate. His body temperature was still a bit low, but he was good to go home.

"You wanna come home with us?" Kurt asked after the nurse left. Milo's eyes widened as he seemed to wonder if this were real or not.

'I can?' he finally signed and smiled as Kurt nodded.

"We've all missed you so much, baby" Kurt said and leaned in to hug him. "And I know two small girls at home that will scream of joy when they see you. They don't even know that we'll bring you home with us today."

Milo quickly did the signs he created for Alice and Maya and his eyes seemed to sparkle for a second.

'Christmas?' he signed next and Kurt nodded.

"Yes, it's Christmas Day today, so we better hurry home and make some awesome lunch before everyone gets there…" he started and looked at Noah with a horrified expression. "Wow, everyone's coming to our house today. Maybe that's not a very good idea."

Noah shook his head as he thought about it. All the people would probably cause a chaos as usual, and Milo looked so tired in Kurt's arms. "I'm calling my mom. Maybe we can celebrate with them tomorrow or something. Today should just be the five of us."

Another nurse appeared just before they walked out and handed Milo a Christmas gift wrapped in red paper with small snowmen on it.

"Oh, are you going home, sweetie?" she asked as she handed over the present and let her hand stroke over his back. "Good for you to be home on Christmas." Apparently every child that were in the hospital on Christmas Day got one, and Milo opened it slowly to discover a light brown teddy bear holding a red heart that said 'Merry Christmas'. He cuddled it close to his chest with a soft smile as Kurt carried him out of the hospital covered in blankets, as he didn't have a jacket with him.

Susan had promised to make sure that Milo's things and Christmas gifts would be at their house later today, and Kurt hoped that she would be able to keep her promise. Otherwise they wouldn't have a single gift for Milo. They would have to wait with the presents until Milo's arrived. He was the best gift after all and they didn't need anything else right now.

* * *

As they walked up to their house they could see two small faces peeking out of the kitchen window, and as they saw their fathers they disappeared and the next second the front door was thrown open by Alice.

"Daddies!" she screamed happily as she jumped up and down on the porch.

"Wow, Alice, calm down, will you!" Kurt laughed and saw her giggle. "Look who's here!" he added and lowered Milo onto the floor in front of the girls. They looked like they couldn't believe their eyes for a second, and then they started jumping and screaming again.

Noah could see that Milo took a step back and quickly scoped him up in his arms where the boy hid his face in his neck.

"Hey, calm down, angels" he said and walked further into the house after kicking his snowy shoes off. "Milo's a bit tired. You have to be careful. Go and sit down on the couch and we'll join you in a minute."

Kurt was in the kitchen talking to Burt and explaining everything that happened since they ran out of the house in the middle of the night.

"She's so lucky that I wasn't the one finding Milo out there. I would've…" Burt said through gritted teeth but turned silent as he saw Noah walking into the room with Milo in his arms. "Hi, how are you, kiddo?"

Kurt smiled at how quickly his dad's voice changed from anger to love and concern as he stroked Milo's arm and admired the teddy bear that Milo showed him. Kurt loved seeing his father with the kids because it reminded himself of his own childhood. Burt had always been the one person that made Kurt feel loved and safe in the world and he wanted his own kids to experience that as well.

All of them settled on the couch after Burt left and Milo stayed close to Noah and Kurt as Alice and Maya talked and talked and showed him everything he missed the past four days. Everything felt like before, but then they saw the hesitant and slightly scared way that Milo pressed against their bodies and sighed. Something had clearly happened and they knew that there would be police rapports and meetings with the social services later. But today it was Christmas and nothing was allowed to ruin that.

* * *

Susan appeared around lunchtime with Milo's bag and the Christmas presents that he was should've opened at his mother's house.

"How is he?" she whispered as she saw that he had once again fallen asleep on Kurt.

"We don't know actually. I'm very curious about what happened these past days because he seems jittery and nervous all the time" Kurt said with a sad sigh. "But at least he's warm now."

"And safe" Noah added from the doorway. "He'll always be safe here."

"I know, and I'm gonna tell you as soon as I get any news about what will happen with him now. We'll let him stay here as long as possible."

"We want him to stay forever if that's even a possibility" Kurt said quietly, knowing that his request was not as realistic as they would hope.

"We'll wait and see what the police and judges decide. He has no other relatives, so if they decide that his mother shouldn't have custody, then you have a chance. But don't keep your hopes up. The judges love to give biological parents another chance even if it failed before."

"Yeah, well, we'll keep him for now, and that's something at least" Kurt smiled and stroked Milo's curls as he felt him starting to wake up.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now before he sees me. I know he doesn't trust me after I placed him with his mother. I'll talk to him later about that, but I don't wanna ruin this day." She quickly walked out after that and as Milo woke up they sat down to finally open their Christmas presents.

Milo's eyes were huge as he unwrapped the police car that he had longed for ever since that day in the toy store and he barely let go of it to open his other gifts.

"Look! Dad! I'm gonna be a princess!" Maya squealed as she opened the present that contained the princess dress that Kurt made for her. "Help me put it on!"

In a minute she was half naked and Kurt helped her to put the dress on. It fit her perfectly of course and she twirled around in the room and laughed every time the dress flew out around her. When she opened the next gift and found her tiara, Kurt couldn't help but laugh at her expression. He knew that she would probably sleep in that outfit the whole night and the night after.

"Daddy, look!" Alice screamed and held up a book about dogs and a huge box of beads in every color. She loved making necklaces and Noah had found it on sale months ago. "But I didn't get a puppy" she added sadly.

"Santa can't bring you everything you want, honey" Noah said softly. "You know that. You can wish for anything in the world, but it's not a guarantee that you'll get it."

"And we got Milo back earlier than planned, and he's almost like a puppy, aren't you, sweetie?" Kurt joked and tickled the boy's sides.

'No. Crocodile.' Milo signed and showed his teeth.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Crocodile. I totally forgot. I thought you looked a little green though" Kurt laughed and the girls giggled as Milo tried to chew on Kurt's arm.

They fell back onto the couch and cuddled together as Noah popped Alice' new movie 'Brave' into the DVD. Noah reached over the back of the couch and gently stroked Kurt's hair as they watched the movie and Kurt met his eyes and sighed happily. Yeah, they had a lot in front of them, but today were all about enjoying their family.

* * *

**So, Milo's back. In the next chapter we'll know more about what happened and we'll see some if it from Milo's POV. Please take a minute and leave a review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi... remember me? Yeah, I know, it's been too long, but my inspiration failed me. This is kind of a repeat of chapter 10, but we'll get to see what happened to Milo. If you think it's weird that he calls Kurt and Noah 'K' and 'N', then I can tell you that my nephew does that because it's easier when he signs, so... (and I also think it's kind of cute, and I see them all dressed like the Men in Black)**

**And THANK YOU to all of you who review this story. I'm like a kid on Christmas every time I see a new one. I love you all. You're so kind. **

* * *

"You're gonna sit here until you've eaten that food, and that's final!"

Milo shrunk even further down in his chair as his mother yelled at him again. This had been going on for the last hour or so, and she wouldn't budge.

It wasn't like Milo was difficult or anything; he had been taught to at least try everything he was served, and be grateful for the food he was given. The problem was just that the stew standing in front of him contained both onion and peppers; both known to make his tummy ache for days. He had eaten the rice, but that didn't please her.

His father had first discovered it years ago when Milo had been complaining over his tummy and they had visited the doctor that told them that Milo was indeed allergic. Wasn't somebody supposed to tell his mother things like that?

He had tried to tell her; made his best to explain with the easiest signs he knew, but it was hopeless when she didn't even look at him.

This confused him. He was used to getting a lot of attention due to his signing. No one could see him answering if they weren't facing him, and she wasn't.

He shook his head again and felt his eyes starting to tear up. He was so incredibly hungry, but at the same time he knew that she wouldn't be happy if he started to throw up in the middle of the night. So he lowered his head and tried to think happy thoughts as the woman that called herself his mother continued her yelling.

The darkness fell outside as he dared to glance out the kitchen window some minutes later. It had been way past his bedtime when they sat down to eat, and now he had to fight to stay awake. The food on the plate before him was ice cold now and it had started to dry into the plate. It was still untouched and he knew that it would remain that way unless she forced it down his throat.

"So you're not gonna eat it?" she asked half an hour later as she stepped back into the kitchen with a frown on her face. Her hands were on her narrow hips and she had a stern expression on her face as she watched him with her eyebrows raised in question. Milo thought for a second. This was his chance to take it all back; to save himself from what was about to come, but his head shook before he had made up his mind. K had told him that even kids had the right to speak their minds, and he liked that thought.

"I can't believe this" she said, almost to herself as she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Here I cook and serve a delicious meal and you just refuse to eat it. What is your problem?"

Milo started to move his hands; telling her again how his tummy wouldn't like it, but she just looked at him like he was from some other planet.

"Your father did this, didn't he?" she started, and Milo shook his head without knowing what it was he answered. His daddy hadn't done something wrong! "He spoiled you, probably because he felt sorry for you being unable to talk like a normal person, but I won't take it. This…this…_thing_ you're doing doesn't fool me. I know that you can talk, so get started. Tell me what your problem is!"

She yelled again now, and Milo didn't know what to do. He didn't know why he talked with his hands and not with his mouth like all the other kids he knew. He just did and it sometimes made him sad when he thought about it. He didn't like to be left out because people couldn't understand him, and hearing her yell at him because of it made his tummy ache and his eyes water.

"You're not gonna answer me? Fine. Then I don't want you in this house. You can sleep on the porch tonight until you decide to behave like you're supposed to."

She grabbed his arm harder than necessary and dragged him after her towards the front door. Feeling the panic entering his body, Milo tried to fight it by grabbing the doorframe, but he was way too small to make any real difference. The door opened and a rush of ice cold wind made him shiver where he stood in just a pair of sweat pants and a matching sweater. She would let him get his coat and boots, right? It was freezing out there after all. But no, she just shoved him out onto the porch and with a loud bang that made his small body jump the door slammed shut between them.

Milo looked around. He had of course been on this porch before, but it had never felt so scary before. It was dark outside, and Milo wondered for a moment just how late it really was. He was awfully tired, that was for sure, but other than that he had no idea. Alice had broken the code to how to read the clock a few weeks earlier and she had been eager to teach him. It turned out though that it was really confusing; so many numbers and hands and stuff to remember. He had decided to learn it later. Now he regretted it.

A thin layer of snow covered the wooden boards and Milo hid in the corner as an especially cold wind made him shiver. He was happy that he at least had his slippers on, because being barefoot in the snow wouldn't have been fun.

As he curled up on the porch, trying to find a comfortable position he thought about his mother. He had no idea why she was so angry at him all the time. After all, she had been the one who wanted him here over Christmas, right? He would've rather stayed with K and N. Oh…just the thought of them made his eyes water. He was so tired and his tummy was so hungry that it hurt. Maybe this was as bad as if he had eaten that food. Maybe he had been fighting for nothing?

A few minutes later the cold was too much to handle. Milo couldn't feel his toes anymore and he had pins-and –needles in his hands. He tried to tuck them into his armpits and it worked for a minute before the cold seeped through his sweater and reached his skin. His eyes felt so heavy in the dark cold and he blinked when a few snowflakes landed on his eyelashes. They mixed with his tears as they melted against his skin.

He felt so unbelievably lonely. He wished that his father still was alive and that he never met this woman; his mother. His dad had been the best daddy ever and always made him feel loved and safe. It was always just the two of them, and it suited them perfectly. Around Christmas they would go out and get the biggest Christmas tree that would fit into their living room and it sometimes would take hours to find the perfect one, but neither of them cared. It was all about the hunt and the joy of doing it.

A picture suddenly entered his mind. It showed a family with two dads and two daughters sitting around a lovely decorated Christmas tree opening presents with huge smiles on their faces. Milo had thought that he would be a part of that picture, but instead he sat here and shivered while his teeth chattered and his heart ached with longing.

For a moment he hated K and N for not being here to save him. They had told him to ask someone for help if his mother did something that hurt him, but how would he do that? No one understood him! Not even his own mother. It was a worthless advice and he sobbed when he realized how helpless he was.

What had he done to deserve this? Well, except for refusing to eat the food she cooked? Oh… maybe this was his fault after all. Yeah, he probably deserved this. And she would have to come out and get him soon anyways, right? She just had to; otherwise he would freeze to death.

For a moment he thought about walking over to one of the neighbors and asking for help. K had told him that if someone was mean to him, he should run the other way and ask for help from an adult; no matter what. Was this one of these moments?

Yeah, probably, but just the thought of being forced to uncurl himself from this position and walk across the street in the snow made him whimper. Just moving his feet at this point seemed impossible. Maybe he could just close his eyes for a minute and take a quick nap? And if his mother wasn't here when he woke up, then he would walk over to that house across the street with the flowers in the windows. It looked cozy and warm. Yes, that was a good plan.

Milo rested his heavy head against the wall for a second and let his tired eyes close. Curling into an even smaller ball he cuddled up against the hard cold wall and hugged his knees. It took just a second for him to fall asleep.

* * *

The next this he realized was that he was being lifted into unknown arms. The person holding him started to walk and he heard a door being opened and shut before he was placed on a soft bed and covered with warm blankets. It was everything he had wished for while being out there but he couldn't gather enough strength to open his eyes and see where he was. Had his mother finally decided to bring him inside? No, it didn't smell like her house, so where was he?

He could hear someone talk in the next room and realized that it was a woman's voice. A gentle hand shook his shoulder and patted his cheek while saying random things. He should probably answer, but it was too comfy and he was too tired to do anything, so he just allowed himself to drift back to sleep. At least he was warm.

* * *

The next time he woke up was when another person lifted him from the bed; a man this time. For a second his heart did a double take as he thought it was N, but then he noticed that he smelled different and held him the wrong way. Fear ripped through his tired body when he couldn't recognize the man and he forced his eyes open only to see a police badge on the jacket before his eyes.

Wow, a police (!) he thought as every 5 year old would, but then his blood turned to ice. No, his mother had told him firmly that the police were bad and that he was never allowed to talk to them. They only wanted to take him away from her, even though she didn't do anything wrong.

But even though this made him nervous he had no strength to really care right now. He let himself relax again and in a minute he was yet again asleep with his head resting against the policeman's broad shoulder.

* * *

The room he was in was too bright and smelled weird as he woke up again. There was a heavy weight on his body and he realized that it came from a bunch of blankets covering him and making him a little bit warmer. He was still cold though and everything in his tired body ached. His feet felt heavy and full of pins-and-needles and so did his hands. A dull ache came from his tummy and he thought it was because he was hungry, but he wasn't sure. Everything felt weird and as he looked around there was only a male nurse that he didn't recognize. He watched the man through his eyelashes and tried to stay still so that he wouldn't see that he was awake. His instincts told him to hide.

"Well, hello, Milo" the man suddenly said and stood up with a smile. "So you finally woke up?"

Milo nodded. This man knew his name, so maybe it was safe to look at him.

"I'm happy to see that. You're in the hospital and we're trying to get you warm" he explained and tucked the blankets closer around Milo's body. "Do you remember what happened?"

Milo nodded again and lowered his eyes. He still wasn't sure if what happened had been his fault or not, so he said nothing. He looked around the room again, desperate to find a familiar face that wasn't his mother. It was scary in here, and he wanted someone to hold him and tell him that everything would be okay. He needed a hug.

It was hard to talk when his arms and hands were tucked into a million heavy blankets that held them down, but he managed to wiggle his right hand out of them. His hand felt weird and stiff as he signed the letter 'K' with a hopeful glance at the nurse. He was only met by a confused expression though, just like he often was. Not many people understood him, and sometimes it was really frustrating. Right now he needed K and N to hold him, so he tried with an 'N' but with no luck.

Sighing he fell back onto the bed, his small hand once again shaped into a 'K' as he tried to hold back his tears. They wouldn't come and get him anyway. His mother had probably told them how naughty he was and now they didn't want him.

"I'm sorry that I can't understand you, kid, but I'll go and see if there's anyone who can help, okay?" the nurse said and quickly stood up and walked to the door. He disappeared out of it and Milo took a deep breath as he realized that he was completely alone. He cuddled further down under the blankets and closed his eyes to calm down, but his body was so tense from the cold that he couldn't relax.

Then the door opened again and he heard one or two people walking in. Then his blankets were lifted off his face and he was met by two pair of friendly familiar eyes looking down at him.

"Hi, sweetie" K's soft voice said and suddenly he was lifted into his arms and held gently but firmly against it. A tired smile managed to spread onto his face as he sighed happily and inhaled the fruity scent that always surrounded K.

"Wow, you're really cold, aren't you, baby?"

Strong hands rubbed up and down his legs and he guessed that they belonged to N. He zoned out for a couple minutes, letting himself relax against K, but then the blankets were taken from him, and K lifted his sweater up over his head. The cold immediately made him shiver and shake his head in protest but then he was lifted up and placed against something really warm and comfy and he soon realized that it was N.

A pair of strong and warm arms wrapped around his back and his chest was pressed against warm skin. He let his head fall against it and the thumping of N's heartbeats finally made him relax enough to willingly let go and fall asleep. He was safe.

* * *

After Milo woke up in the hospital on Christmas Day everything went quickly. He was asked if he wanted to follow K and N home and of course he said yes. It was the only thing he wanted. They drove home where they were greeted by Alice and Maya jumping up and down in joy. Milo wished that he had the strength to join them, but instead he cuddled up in K's arms and watched them play.

He almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what was in his first Christmas gift; the police car that he had longed for ever since that day at the toy store weeks ago. A gentle finger followed every line and he smiled at the perfection of it. He would never ever let it go.

Alice was already making necklaces from the beads she got and Maya twirled around the room in a total princess outfit that fit her perfectly.

Then they watched 'Brave', some new movie that Alice got in one of her presents and it was really good, but not good enough to make Milo stay awake as K stroke his hair and hummed some tune in his ear.

"Hey, sweetie, wake up for a second" Kurt said as he gently shook the boy in his arms. The movie had ended and they were about to eat. None of them wanted to make some big Christmas dinner, so Noah had ordered Chinese and set the table in the kitchen. Yeah, it wasn't very Christmas like, but who cared. They could eat their Christmas dinner tomorrow. It didn't matter right now.

Milo stirred in his arms and he pried the boy away from his chest to force him to wake up. He had been asleep almost through the whole day, and now he needed food.

"Hi" he finally said when Milo's eyes opened and met his with a weak smile. "Are you awake?"

Milo nodded and shook his head at the same time, and Alice giggled as she saw it. The girls hadn't left Milo's side since he came home earlier today, and they still sat on each side of Kurt on the couch, occasionally touching the boy.

"Are there some hungry kids in here?" Noah suddenly said from the doorway and Alice jumped down and cheered as she realized that they would be eating Chinese. Maya followed her after making sure that Milo was okay. "Are you hungry, Milo?" Noah asked and stroked the boy's unruly curls.

Milo seemed to think for a moment and then nodded while rubbing his tummy.

"Good. I'll make sure to remove all the onions from your plate" Noah said and suddenly everything came crashing back in Milo's head.

Kurt froze as he felt the change in the boy and his eyes met Noah's equally confused ones as Milo suddenly whimpered and stiffened.

"Hey, sweetie, what did I say?" Noah asked and sat down next to them. "You like Chinese, don't you?"

Milo nodded weakly.

"I don't have to eat the onion?" he signed with scared eyes and Kurt immediately shook his head as he quickly translated to Noah who didn't quite understand.

"Of course not, baby. Your tummy doesn't like it" Noah answered and met Kurt's confused eyes for a second. What was this all about?

"Mommy told me to eat it" Milo signed with his eyes lowered. He felt ashamed even though he didn't know why.

"She did? Why?" Kurt asked and stroked his back in soothing circles. "Did you tell her about your tummy?"

Milo nodded again. He had told her, but she hadn't even looked at him as he tried to explain.

"That's not right, sweetie. Come on, we'll make sure to remove every piece."

They ate and chatted around the kitchen table until Milo had to force his eyes to stay open and his head not to fall onto the plate.

"I think that you could need a warm bath before bed, kiddo" Noah said and lifted Milo into his arms and headed off to the bathroom where the girls already brushed their teeth.

* * *

Alice sat on the edge of the tub singing songs while Maya decided to jump into the bath with Milo. Noah sat next to Alice and watched as Milo sank lower and lower into the water.

"I think it's time to put you all to bed" he finally said and lifted Milo into a huge towel just as Kurt came in and did the same to Maya. He put Milo down on the floor and he immediately tensed and looked like he didn't want to stand up.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Noah asked as he saw the pain in Milo's face. He realized that Milo had been so tired all day that they had carried him everywhere. Maybe his feet hurt from the cold? "Let me see your feet" he said and lifted Milo onto the counter next to the sink. The sight that met him made him almost nauseous. There were small scars here and there under his small feet and some of them was red and looked infected.

"What happened?" Kurt asked as he stood next to Noah. "Milo?"

Milo lowered his head in shame as he thought about how he broke that glass. He should've held on to it tighter. It was a nice glass after all.

"Milo? Please tell us what happened" Kurt whispered and hugged the boy. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault" he added when he saw the shame on the boy's face.

"I dropped a glass, and it broke" Milo finally signed and they could see his bottom lip tremble.

"Well, that happens every now and then, sweetie. Why did you step on it? Your mother was there, right? Didn't she help you?" Noah said and felt himself getting angry.

"I broke it, so I had to clean it up" Milo said like it was perfectly logical.

"But…" Noah began, feeling his anger rising, but shut up as Kurt looked sternly at him.

"Milo…" Kurt started and put a finger under Milo's chin to tilt his head up. "What your mother did was wrong. Anyone can break a glass, but it's our job as parents to make sure that you're not being hurt. We're supposed to protect you from hurting yourself, okay?"

Milo bit his lower lip and nodded with a bit of a hesitant.

"Let's take a look at your feet, sweetie, to see if there's any glass left in there" Kurt said and lifted Milo higher up on the counter. Noah held him tight when Kurt started to examine him. It hurt of course and Milo tensed in Noah's arms and cried silent tears into his shirt as Kurt removed three small pieces of glass and cleaned up the wounds and wrapped them up.

"I'm so sorry, Milo, but I had to get it out. Otherwise it would never heal properly." He said as he held the small boy close. "Come on, let's put you to bed."

The kids were put into their pajamas and soon they were all cuddled together in Kurt and Noah's bed.

Noah read a story, but the kids were already asleep before he came to the middle of it.

Milo had a firm grip on the police car and Maya slept in her tiara. It was a precious sight that made the two men smile and take pictures to save for later.

"I'm so happy he's here again" Kurt whispered where he was surrounded by kids on both sides.

"Me, too." Noah said and pulled Alice closer to his body; desperate to hold at least one of them. "I wonder what she did to him, but I'm not sure that I wanna know" he confessed and felt his eyes water.

"I know exactly what you mean" Kurt agreed and shook his head as he stroked Milo's back. "Forcing him to eat stuff he's allergic to? Letting him pick up broken glass without shoes? I mean who d-does that!?" he said and his voice broke in the end when a small sob ripped through his body.

"I know. It's insane. We're gonna tell the police tomorrow. They want to talk to him anyway, so…" Noah sighed. "Now, try to get some sleep, honey."

Milo woke up a couple of times during the night, but he didn't even have time to get scared before there was a soft hand there to stroke his hair or rub his back until his eyes fell shut again. It felt so good to finally be where he belonged.

* * *

**So...what did you think? Please take a minute and leave a review. Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi. I'm sorry that this took so long. I've had ideas, but they didn't come out as I wanted them to. Now I've had a couple of days off, and it's snowing, so I've stayed inside. It's the middle of April, and it's fucking snowing! Sometimes you just have to love Sweden. Or not. **

**Anyway...here is chapter 12. It's long, to make you happy and as a thank you for waiting. And there's smut at the end. Enjoy****!**

* * *

"You know, tomorrow it's a new year and this year we're gonna celebrate our tenth anniversary" Kurt said as he kissed Noah's cheek after waking up on New Year's Eve.

"Yeah, it's ten years since you kissed me and made me the happiest man alive."

"And also the sappiest" Kurt chuckled and turned his head to meet Noah's lips in another soft kiss.

"Hey!" Noah objected and grabbed Kurt's sides and laughed as he felt him squirm under his hands. "I'm not a sap! Say it!"

"No w-way!" Kurt squealed and tried to break free from Noah's tickling hands, which just made Noah dig his fingers in even deeper. "Stop! Please, Noah! Sto-op it. I can't breathe!"

"So say it. It's not hard. Just say 'You're not a sap' and I will let you go."

Noah had a hard time hiding his smile as he watched Kurt squirm and laugh on the bed. It wasn't often that he let himself go like this and it was the most awesome thing to see. Usually Kurt laughed quietly while keeping himself somewhat together, but now he snorted and made crazy sounds as he trashed around on the bed, trying to get away from Noah's hands that seemed to be everywhere!

A small voice saying "Daddies! What are you doing?" is what made them stop in the end, and they both turned towards the door to look at their youngest daughter standing there with a confused smile on her face.

"I'm tickling your dad. Wanna help?" Noah said excitedly and Maya quickly nodded and ran up to the bed.

"What? No, no, no, noooo!" Kurt said as he realized that this was far from over. It only triggered the other two on and soon he was laughing again with an added small pair of hands tickling his neck and armpits.

"Okay, sweetie. I think we'll have to let your dad breathe for a minute" Noah said after a while and Kurt slumped down on the bed and panted heavily. Maya fell down on his stomach a second later and they all just laid there thinking about how lucky they were. It only took a minute before there were two more bodies throwing themselves onto their bed, giggling happily as they settled comfortably between and on top of the rest of the family.

"We're going to Nana's!" Alice squealed excitedly as she almost bounced on the bed. "We are, right?"

"Yes, we are" Noah answered and pulled her closer to his warm and still sleepy body. "We're going right after lunch, and Max will be there" he added as he knew that this would make her extra happy.

"Yay! Max!" she shouted and jumped down from the bed. "I'm gonna go and pick out some clothes. I can wear anything today, right, Dad?"

"Yes, you can, baby" Kurt chuckled and watched her as she ran out of the room with the biggest smile on her face.

"Wow, that's big of you" Noah teased and kissed his husbands cheek. "I would never allow her to wear 'anything'. You're aware that our daughter got her fashion sense from me, right?"

"Shit" Kurt cursed through closed lips, and it made Noah chuckle.

"You said 'shit'!" Maya said with a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide as she watched her father. "It's a bad word."

"Oh…yeah…it is, sweetie, but sometimes it just slips out" Kurt tried to explain while standing up from the bed. "I'm gonna help Alice so that she can look her best today." With that he disappeared from the room and Maya's eyes turned to Noah.

"Is it okay to say bad words sometimes then?" she asked seriously.

"Well…yeah. Sometimes it is okay, but only in this house, okay? And you cannot use it against another person. Ever." He looked at her to see that she understood, and when she nodded, he continued. "But if you hurt yourself or if you wanna say bad words in your own room when you're alone, then it's okay, but not in school or with your friends. Do you understand?"

Maya nodded along with Milo that now sat up next to her. Noah knew that this probably wasn't what Kurt would've said, but he also knew that it was unrealistic and a bit hypocritical to tell them that they could never curse when their fathers did. It was better to teach them when and where it was okay. "And don't ever use them in front of Dad" he couldn't help but add with a smile.

"Do you know any bad words, Milo?" she turned and asked the boy, but he shook his head, looking a little disappointed.

Noah watched them with confusion. How come a five year old didn't know any bad words _at all_? Was that even possible?

"Daddy never taught me" Milo answered and Noah translated to Maya as it suddenly hit him. Milo only knew the words that his dad taught him before he died and the words that he had learned from Kurt and his Granny since he moved in. Because he went to regular school with Alice he never had lessons in his own language or met other kids that signed. This was not going to work if it went on. How was he going to develop and learn his own language? He made a mental note to talk to Kurt and Milo about this later. Right now he needed to make some breakfast, and it was going to be spectacular. It was New Year's Eve after all.

* * *

Everyone was already there when they arrived at Nana's house. The warm air that met them when they opened the door was a welcoming change to the freezing cold outside.

"Maaaax!" Alice shouted happily as she ran into the house and threw herself into the arms of her best friend.

"Alice! Take off your boots before you just bolt inside!" Kurt shouted after her and rolled his eyes. This was so typically Alice that he couldn't even get mad. "Now there's snow all over the floor. Come here. There'll be plenty of time to play with Max afterwards."

"It's okay, honey" Nana said as she walked into the hallway to meet them and saw the cute pair. "Never stand in the way of young love or friendship." She added with a smile.

Kurt and Noah looked at each other for a second and smiled. The woman was the one that supported their love the strongest when they finally decided to try being a couple after weeks of flirting and they loved her for it. She always stood by them when other people didn't.

"How are you?" Kurt asked as he hugged her close and inhaled her comforting scent. "It's been way too long."

"I'm perfectly fine, honey. No need to worry." She patted his cheek as always and hugged him close before letting him go and turned to hug Noah even closer.

Alice and Maya were already off playing with Max but a pair of small arms still hugged Kurt's legs from behind. Milo was too shy to just run away with the others when Max was present and apparently it had gotten even worse since his stay with his mother.

"Now…how are the two of you? You look exhausted." She said as she eyed her grandson and his husband more closely. Noah had stepped closer to Kurt and now had Milo on his right hip and his left arm around Kurt's waist.

"Yeah, we are" Noah answered silently as he eyed Milo. The truth was that they hadn't slept a full night since Milo came back to them because of the fact that Milo hadn't. Almost every night haunted him with nightmares and the other nights he would just wake up and climb into their bed without explanation.

Some nights they woke up from him standing in the doorway to their bedroom, probably afraid of waking them up. It was some sort of parental intuition, feeling the presence of a child even though it made no sound what so ever. When he was finally in their bed he would fall asleep just to wake up every hour or so and they stroked his back or his hair until he relaxed enough to go back to sleep.

In the mornings they were exhausted, but they refused to let him know. This was something he needed right now, and they would be damned if they wouldn't give it to him.

"Oh, hello, Milo" a soft voice said from behind them and Noah turned around to smile at Kurt's granny. "Come give your Granny a hug, sweetie" she said while signing. She always signed every time she talked to him, and Kurt and Noah did as well. However, it was kind of easy to forget it because of Milo's excellent hearing. It was too easy to think that it was unnecessary and they had to remind themselves that it wasn't. Milo needed it to feel comfortable and less alone in his signing. It was also an amazing way for the girls to learn.

Noah lowered Milo onto the floor and watched him hesitantly let the old woman hug him close. He even signed 'Hi, Granny' before taking a step back and jumping back into Noah's open arms.

* * *

"Faster, Sammy!" Alice squealed as Sam ran into the kitchen with her bouncing on his back, laughing like a maniac.

"I can't! I'm not strong enough!" Sam tried, but Alice refused to believe him. This was way too much fun.

"You can! I know you can!" she said with a stern voice. "Now, run upstairs, little pony!"

Kurt chuckled softly as he watched them. Blaine came into the room a minute later with Max on his back and Maya hanging around his legs, all of them giggling.

"Hey, guys" Noah said as he fist bumped Sam and slapped Blaine on his back. "Girls, be careful with Sam and Blaine, okay? They're not made out of steel." Sam gently put Alice back on the floor but kept his hand in her curls.

"Sorry, Sammy" Alice whispered as she hugged the blonds legs, but she didn't look sorry at all. "Wanna play, Milo?"

The boy hid behind Noah's legs as soon as Alice addressed him and everyone's attention turned to him. Noah could feel him shaking his head and leaned down to stroke his hair. He soon fell into a conversation with Sam about some car they planned on buying and almost missed that Blaine had fallen down to his knees next to him.

Kurt watched him silently; curious and also a bit nervous about what would happen. Blaine and Milo hadn't met a lot during Milo's stay with them, but Blaine had a way of appearing totally unthreatening and remained calm in a way that relaxed people.

"Hi, Milo" he whispered and peaked around Noah's legs to meet the boy's eyes.

Kurt could see that both Noah and Sam watched them now as well, even though they pretended not to, to take the pressure off of Milo.

"You know…" Blaine started. "I was thinking about cutting up some fruit salad that we could all eat with ice cream and _a lot_ of chocolate sauce, and I could need an assistant…?"

'_Huh, he's sneaky'_ Kurt thought as he tried to hide his smile when Milo's head peaked out from his hiding place.

"Max isn't allowed around sharp knives, because he can't be still, so I was wondering if maybe you could help me out? That is, if you know how to do it?" Blaine said with a smile while wiggling his eyebrows.

Kurt smiled and remained still. He really had to applaud Blaine later, because there was nothing that kids loved better than to prove that they could do stuff. Blaine had called them a few days ago when Kurt and Milo were making dinner, and Kurt had told him how Milo had been allowed to use a small but kind of sharp knife for the first time while making salad. He had been so proud and careful while cutting the vegetables.

Now, Milo's eyes met Kurt's in a silent plea and Kurt simply nodded. Milo looked back at Blaine again and nodded shyly.

"You can?" Blaine said and bounced up and down like an excited puppy. "Yay! This is going to be the best fruit salad ever!" he smiled and all the people in the kitchen smiled discreetly. "Come on, I'll do the pineapple and you can do the bananas and apples!"

He reached out a hand to the boy and as Milo took it the whole room smiled. The rest of the people in the kitchen left the room silently to give the two of them some privacy. This was good for Milo after all. He needed to learn how to be with other people without Kurt or Noah being around.

Noah squeezed Kurt's hand tightly as they walked out, secretly saying that he had been nervous, too. They just hoped that this was only the beginning and that he would come out of his shell in the end.

* * *

"So, how did it go with the police?" Carole asked when they all sat in the living room a few minutes later. The police had been over at their house after Christmas to ask Milo about what happened at his mother's house. They had of course talked to him a little bit in the hospital as well, but they wanted him to recover before they brought up the hard questions.

"I don't know…" Kurt said and sighed. "Good, I think. It was really hard to hear him answer the questions though."

"Yeah, I didn't understand everything, but the interpreter that came with the police translated, and it was really horrible" Noah added and balled his fists. "If you really own that shotgun, I want to borrow it" he said and smiled a weak smile in Burt's direction.

"I think I'll need it myself" Burt said and shook his head. "I can't believe some people. Putting their own kid in danger on purpose! That's just…" he shook his head and sighed again.

"I know. Milo had told us a bit, but not everything. She actually made him lie to the social worker about her drinking. I can't even…"

Noah took Kurt's hand in his and squeezed it tight to calm him down. The interview had taken a toll on them and they talked silently about it at night when Milo finally fell asleep. They needed to get it off their chests, and they didn't want to talk to just anyone about it. It was Milo's life after all.

"So, what happens now? She won't get him back again, right?" Carole asked worriedly.

"We have no idea" Noah sighed. "They won't tell us anything, because we're not related to him…"

"Which is insane, because we're the ones taking care of him" Kurt added sadly.

"But they said that if she loses custody, then we can fight to get it" Noah said with so much hope in his voice that Kurt cuddled into his side and hugged him close.

"Imagine that…" Kurt whispered dreamily and everyone in the room fell silent as they took it in.

The police and social services had told them not to get their hopes up because you never knew what the judges were going to decide, but Susan had added that it didn't look good for Milo's mother. She had made too many mistakes, and when they interrogated her she didn't even seem like she wanted to fight for her son.

This gave them a tiny bit of hope to hold on to, but they tried to be realistic. Foster parents had no right what so ever when it came to this.

* * *

"Daddies? Can Max and me go out and play in the snow?" Alice said as she skipped into the room and bounced up on the couch between her daddies. "Pleeease?"

"It's 'Max and I', sweetie, and yeah, I guess you can if you stay where we can see you from the windows." Kurt said and Alice squealed and ran off to find her 'bestie'.

"Where's Maya?" Noah asked when they came back. "Is she going out with you?"

"No. She doesn't wanna play with us. We're gonna make a snowman and then make angels." Alice explained, but Kurt and Noah could see that she looked a little bit ashamed.

"But you asked her, right?" Kurt pushed and watched her squirm. "Alice Hummel-Puckerman, what have we said about letting your sister join you when you play?" he said and looked at her sternly. This happened a lot when Max was involved, and it usually ended with a crying Maya, feeling left out.

"Okay!" she said and stomped her foot with her eyebrows pulled together. "I'll ask her!"

"God…" Kurt sighed and massaged his temples. "She's already a teenager."

Carole snorted and Burt chuckled. "Yeah, I know exactly where she got that attitude from" he said and eyed his son with raised eyebrows. "It only took about 16 years to get rid of, so…"

"It did not!" Kurt said and put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes.

"No comments" Noah chuckled as the whole room erupted with laughter.

* * *

"I think we have another kid that wants to go out in the snow" Blaine said from the doorway and pointed to the boy that held his hand firmly. "The fruit is ready, so maybe we could go out for a while, and eat it when we get back inside?"

"You just wanna play in the snow" Sam chuckled as he came up behind Blaine and gently kissed his cheek. "You're more excited than the kids. Admit it."

"Okay, okay!" Blaine said and smiled his big goofy smile. "I want a snowball fight, and I want to win!"

"I'm in!" Noah said and rushed to the door. "Come on, Milo, put some clothes on. We're gonna beat them. The Hummel-Puckerman's are gonna win!"

Everyone struggled to get their clothes, boots, hats and mittens on and then they ran out into the snow. Snowballs started to fly immediately and the whole yard was soon filled with laughter.

"You're not joining them?" Burt asked his son as they watched from the kitchen window. Kurt had never been one for loud games that inquired heavy clothing or messed-up hair, but a father could try, right? "Come on, kiddo. Live a little."

Kurt's first thought was to say no, but then Noah turned against the house and blew him a kiss and someone (Sam) hit him with a snowball in the back of his head.

"Nooo, that's _not_ okay. Nobody throws snowballs at my husband" Kurt growled and suddenly Burt watched him put on clothes, push a beanie onto his head and march out on the porch.

"Oohh, someone's gonna get their hands full of angry Kurt" Burt chuckled as he saw Kurt make a snowball and aim it at Sam, then throw it straight into his chest.

Carole, Nana and Granny all laughed when they saw Sam's shocked expression the second before he started to chase Kurt around the house, accompanied by the kids screams.

Kurt ran like a mad man while he laughed so hard that he could barely breathe. This was the most fun he had had in weeks. Sam was on his heels and Kurt knew that he didn't stand a chance when it came to outrunning him, but he would be damned if he gave up.

"Run, Daaaad! Ruuun!" Alice and Maya screamed while they jumped up and down in the snow. "Come oooon!"

Kurt suddenly stopped, scoped up as much snow as he could and then threw it in Sam's face just as he caught up with him.

"Oh, no you didn't!" Sam growled as he wiped his face dry. "You're gonna pay for that, Hummel!"

"It's Hummel-Puckerman for you, _Sammy_!" Kurt dared to say before he ran to hide behind his husband.

"Hiding behind your big threatening husband, are you?" Sam laughed. "Too bad I'm not afraid of him!"

"No?" Noah said and pointed down to his feet where at least thirty snowballs lay waiting. Sam's grin disappeared in a second, but then Blaine called him over to where he and Max stood with just as many snowballs.

"It's on!" Sam screamed and joined his team. "But we get to have Alice, because you're five and we're only three!"

"Yes!" Alice shouted and ran to Max with the biggest smile.

"You're good at this, right?" Noah said to Milo who nodded, even though he looked kind of hesitant. "Okay, throw as many as you can, but not in their faces. That's dangerous."

The snowball fight soon spiraled out of control with everyone running, screaming and throwing snow at the one being closest, no matter what team they belonged to.

Kurt grabbed hold of Noah as he ran by him, tripped in the snow and fell down on his back, taking Noah with him as he panted heavily.

"Shit, this is hard workout" he smiled when Noah turned onto his side and cuddled close. "I'm completely spent."

"Too spent to make out?" Noah asked and wiggled his eyebrows, and Kurt looked around to see where the kids were. They were running in the other direction, chased by Blaine and Sam, so he quietly leaned upwards and captured Noah's cold lips with his own.

Kurt could feel the snow seeping in between his pants and his jacket, but he couldn't care less at this point. Noah's nose was cold against his cheek, but his mouth was warm and welcoming as he opened it to deepen the kiss.

Noah raised his hand to stroke Kurt's cheek, but forgot that he had his gloves on, and small chunks of snow fell onto Kurt's face.

"Ahemmm…Noah…." Kurt mumbled as he pushed Noah's cold and wet gloves away. "Keep your hands off me" he added with a smile.

"Yeah? That's not how it usually sounds" Noah smiled and leaned in again for another kiss. They got lost in each other for a few more minutes until the sound of running feet broke them apart. A heavy weight landed on Noah's back and Kurt made an 'oumph'-sound as he almost got crushed under the weight of his husband and youngest daughter.

"Gome on, let's get inside" Noah laughed and watched their daughter's red cheeks and sweaty hair that stuck out from under her hat. "We've got fruit and ice cream waiting!"

* * *

The evening contained of a large dinner and lots of talking and laughing. The kids started yawning around ten o'clock and Milo and Maya fell asleep on the couch even though everyone was really loud at this point. They had promised to wake them up at midnight though, because Noah's dad and Burt had brought fireworks.

"We have the best family in the world" Kurt whispered later on when he and Noah were alone in the kitchen, Kurt sitting on the counter with Noah standing between his spread legs.

"I know. They're awesome" Noah agreed and leaned in to give him a deep but soft kiss. His hands were just about to slip under Kurt's shirt when someone cleared their throat.

"Didn't you two get enough out their earlier?" Burt asked amused.

"Oh…" Kurt said and hid his blushing face in Noah's neck as he realized that Burt had seen them making out in the snow.

"No" Noah said firmly at the same time. "We never get enough, especially now when there's at least one kid in our bed every night. That doesn't leave much time to make out."

"Noah…" Kurt said embarrassed, but he knew he was right. It was frustrating, and even though they kissed in front of their kids, it was only light pecks on the lips.

"I get it" Burt said. "I've been there, remember?" He seemed to think for a while. "Why don't the two of you take some time tomorrow morning to sleep in? We can take care of the kids and you two can…stay in bed, or whatever…" he looked a bit embarrassed now as well, and even Noah squirmed awkwardly against Kurt as they agreed.

"Thanks, dad" Kurt said when he turned to walk out. "We owe you."

"No, you don't. I get to hang out with my awesome grandkids and I get to see that smile on your faces again," he explained as he walked out. Kurt and Noah hugged each other closer before opening the fridge to get the champagne out. It was only ten minutes until midnight and they had to get the kids dressed so they could watch the fireworks from the porch.

"Wake up, Milo" Kurt said as he shook the sleeping boy carefully. "It's time for the fireworks."

Milo's dark eyes opened and Kurt lifted him into his arms and stroked his back until he was fully awake. Next to him, Noah did the same with Maya. They put on their jackets and boots and walked out onto the porch. Eric and Burt stood in the other end of the yard and put up the fireworks. They all held glasses with champagne or soda and everyone waited and watched their clocks.

"One minute!" Carole shouted and Sam started to count down when they came to thirty seconds.

"5-4-3-2-1…. Happy New Year!" they all screamed and hugged as the first firework exploded on the black sky.

"Look, isn't it beautiful?" Kurt said as he kneeled down between Maya and Milo. He kissed both their cheeks and whispered "Happy new year, sweethearts" as he hugged them closer. He could see Alice and Max holding hands as they almost broke their necks trying to watch the sky without missing anything.

He stood up as Noah walked up to him and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Happy new year, my love" he whispered into Kurt's ear and kissed him softly. "I love you so damn much, honey. Here's to another awesome year together" he added as he bumped their glasses together.

"Happy new year" Kurt answered against his lips. "I love you, too. More than you could possibly know."

They let go of each other and watched as everyone hugged and kissed.

"I'm tired" Maya said and Kurt lifted her up on his hip and watched Noah do the same to Milo.

"Alice, come on!" Kurt called. "We're going inside to sleep. And I haven't even gotten a kiss from you, princess."

Alice giggled as she ran up to them and kissed both her daddies and siblings before yawning and following the rest inside.

"Wanna sleep in Maya's bed tonight, sweetie?" Kurt asked Milo as they had brushed their teeth and put on their PJs.

Milo nodded eagerly and Maya smiled as she heard it. "He can?"

"Yes, he can, if you both want to" Kurt said and hopped that this maybe would give him and Noah some alone time.

"We want to. Right, Milo?" Maya said and Milo nodded again as Kurt put them to bed and kissed their foreheads. They were asleep before he reached the door.

* * *

Tired out of their minds, Kurt and Noah were already half asleep before they even had a chance of doing more than kissing a little bit. It had been a long but really fun day, and Kurt snuggled closer to Noah's warm body before drifting off completely.

The clock was 3:46 when there was a small knock on their door.

"Here we go again" Noah sighed tiredly and yawned. He knew that Milo needed this, but he was so tired that he had trouble keeping a smile on his face.

"Come on in, Milo" Kurt said softly and watched the door slowly open. A curly head peaked inside and soon they could hear the soft sound of bare feet against the floor as he padded towards their bed. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Milo shook his head and looked down. He always looked ashamed when he came to them during the night, and it broke their hearts to see him like that. 'This house', he signed and cuddled closer to Kurt.

"What do you mean? Is it that you're not in your own bed?" Kurt asked confused.

'There's strange sounds' Milo replied, and Kurt finally understood. He had been terrified of sleeping somewhere else than in his own bed when he was a kid, and it was often because other people's houses sounded scary. There were creaking floors, cars outside, someone snoring or other things that made him feel scared.

"Yeah, but it's also a lot more quiet than our house, isn't it?" Kurt tried. "No cars outside, no sounds from the city, no people walking by and talking. It's just us and this old house. It's completely safe."

Milo seemed to think about this for a second, then he relaxed and closed his eyes. He was asleep within a minute.

* * *

"Kurt…"

Kurt opened his eyes and for a second he couldn't remember where he was. Who was calling his name?

"It's your dad" Noah mumbled beside him, and Kurt realized that they were at nana's.

"Yeah?" He shouted towards the door. "What's up?"

"Is Milo with you?" Burt asked and Kurt suddenly felt a small body hugging him from behind.

"Yes, he is."

The door opened and Burt stuck his head inside. "I didn't wanna wake you up, but I promised to look after the kids, and we're about to make chocolate chip pancakes. I thought maybe you would want some, Milo?"

_Oh, yeah, that's right. They had a babysitter and a morning in bed. That's more like it._ Kurt gently shook Milo and convinced him to go with Burt, promising him that Granny would be down there as well. When they were out of the door, Noah turned towards him and didn't waste a second before their lips were locked together.

"Oh, god, I've missed this…" He moaned when Kurt pushed him down on the bed and settled on top of him, their legs tangled together and lips gently touching.

"Me too. So much." Kurt said and cuddled even closer, stroking the back of Noah's neck while kissing him.

"Kuuurt…"

"Mmmm, I love when you purr like that" Kurt moaned into his ear and continued to stroke his neck. Noah was incredibly sensitive there and Kurt always loved to see the reaction.

"I don't purr!" Noah said offended. "I'm not some kitten."

"But you are. You're my strong, sexy kitten. Or lion…" Kurt answered with a smile and pushed his tongue into his warm mouth. "…and you always purr when I touch your neck at the same time as I kiss you. But not as much as if I touch your neck while licking your nipples…"

He moved down to demonstrate, and Noah tossed his head back and made that sound that vibrated through his chest and into Kurt's heart and groin.

"Or if I do it at the same time as I touch your balls…" he said next and let his hand slip under the waistband of Noah's boxers and cupped his balls gently and gave them a squeeze.

The reaction was immediate. Noah's hips bucked up to meet his hand and his head fell back onto the pillows as he made that awesome noise that made Kurt rock hard in a second. Noah was like an instrument, and Kurt knew exactly how to play it.

"Fuck…Kurt" Noah moaned when Kurt stilled his hands. "That was awesome."

"I know" Kurt smirked proudly and stood up to undress. Noah watched transfixed as Kurt lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor and then turned around as he pulled his underwear off teasingly slow while bending forward.

"Kuuurt!" Noah growled from where he laid on the bed, already completely naked and stroking his hard cock lazily. "Come here."

Kurt wasted no time. In a second he was back on top of his husband, straddling him and pushing their cocks together between their bellies.

"God, I love you" Noah whispered as he grabbed Kurt's ass and squeezed it in his hands while thrusting up towards him. He loved how Kurt's skin always felt like silk and how his body were so firm but yet so incredibly soft, full of rounded angles and hard muscles.

"Wanna taste you" Kurt moaned and watched Noah's eyes widen when he kissed his way down over his chest and hard stomach. He could see Noah's hard cock twitching as he left small kisses next to it without actually touching it and felt Noah squirm underneath him. Then he settled between his legs, stroked his palms over the inside of his thighs and leaned down to gently kiss his balls.

Noah's back arched upwards as he felt Kurt's warm and wet mouth against his sensitive skin, and then one of his balls got sucked into that beautiful hot mouth, and Noah closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let his head fall back against the soft pillows. This was heaven.

Kurt looked up and chuckled softly around his husband's skin before releasing his testicles and moving upwards. He licked a wet stripe up along the thick vein on his cock and let the tip of his tongue slide around the head a few times before opening his mouth and taking him in completely. The amazing feeling of Noah's heavy cock on his tongue never grew old and he smiled around it as he started to move up and down while working his tongue around it the best he could.

"Oh, fuck….Kuuurt!" Noah moaned as he tried to stop himself from fucking his mouth. This would be over in a heartbeat if he did, so he tried to hold himself together and don't look down, because Kurt, looking up at him from under those thick lashes while having his pink lips wrapped around his cock was the best sight ever and would make him come right away.

Kurt just smiled and released him while licking his lips. Noah tasted as amazing as ever, but he wanted more.

"Want you inside of me" he moaned into his ear as he grinded his ass down on Noah's cock. "Prep me." It was more of an order than a request, and Noah happily obliged. The lube was on his fingers two seconds later and Kurt's tight hole clenched around his fingertips as he pushed two fingers inside to the first knuckle. He knew that Kurt could take it; otherwise he wouldn't have done it.

"Oh, shit…" Kurt moaned and tossed his head back while adjusting to the heavenly feeling. He loved being filled and this was just the beginning. "More" he moaned and let himself slump down over Noah's body so that he could kiss him deeply while Noah's fingers entered him completely.

"Shit, you're so tight" Noah moaned into his mouth and Kurt could feel his own cock twitching when the fingers found his prostate and gently rubbed it.

The next few minutes were quiet. Just fingers slowly moving in and out; stretching and preparing, and hips rolling to meet and adjust. Tongues gently and lovingly playing and lust blown eyes never leaving each other.

"Fuck. Just do it, Noah. I'm ready" Kurt finally panted and Noah's fingers slipped out in a heartbeat. He stroked the lube that was on his fingers over his cock and slowly pushed inside, one inch at the time. Kurt had other thought though and quickly sat down all the way and rolled his hips to get every last bit inside.

"Oh my god, Kurt, be careful!" Noah panted, but he couldn't really care. It felt so bloody good to be inside his husband again and when Kurt started to move he pulled him forward and gave him a messy kiss with too much tongue and teeth, but none of them cared. They just fell into each other's mouths, hands and moans.

"Shit, shit, shit…" Kurt moaned as Noah's cock brushed against his prostate with every thrust. Noah's hands were slippery on his sweaty back and he could feel his own pre come between their bellies. This was going to be over way too soon. "Oh, shit, fuuuck me!" he yelled and was silenced by Noah's lips against his.

"Shhh….you don't want the kids to hear you, do you?" he chuckled. He loved how loud Kurt was being, but they weren't alone in the house; far from it actually. "…or your dad."

Kurt tensed for a second and gave him a hard look with one eyebrow raised. "Really, Noah?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced that he doesn't own that shotgun" he said honestly. He would never mess with Burt intentionally. He had way too much respect for the man to do so. And for him to hear Noah fuck his son was probably not a good idea.

"God, you're such a dork" Kurt said with a giggle and started moving again. "Come on, I need you to come. Like_ now_."

Noah flipped them over and spread Kurt's legs even wider before sinking back inside and proceeding to fuck him into the mattress. Kurt's head were thrown back, his mouth open and his eyes dark and glassy. He watched him reach for his own cock but Noah beat him to it.

"Let me" he simply said and saw Kurt surrender to his touch. The silky hardness was hot in his hand as he stroked it just like he knew Kurt wanted it; long firm strokes and a little twitch at the top. It only took about twenty strokes before he was a blabbering mess on the bed, mumbling "Fuuuck, yes, shit, Noah, make me cooome!" and then he felt him clench around his cock as he arched his back and came in beautiful ropes of pearly come over his chest and hard stomach. Every muscle in his body was tight and twitching as Noah gave another thrust and felt his balls tighten before he came so hard that he almost blackened out.

"Oh my god…" was all he managed to say as he fell down on top of Kurt, careful not to crush him. He stuck his tongue out and lapped up some of Kurt's come that had hit his nipple and sighed happily as the taste of him filled his mouth. "Have I told you lately that I love you?" he mumbled as he looked up at Kurt's blissed out face. A strand of hair had fallen into his face and Noah gently pushed it back where it belonged before kissing him lovingly on the lips.

"Just a thousand times or so" Kurt replied happily and played with the soft hair in his neck. This time he could hear himself do that sound that Kurt called a 'purr', but he didn't even care. This was way too awesome to interrupt.

They managed to take a short shower together before someone knocked on the bathroom door, urging them to come down to the living room. They could hear something about 'Milo' before the person walked away and they quickly shut off the water.

* * *

When they walked into the room they could see Alice crying in Carole's lap, Milo hiding in Granny's and the rest of the people in there watching the two of them with sad smiles.

"Hey, what's happening?" Kurt asked and suddenly had a crying Alice in his arms. Noah caught Milo when he came running and they all stood still for a moment.

"What happened?" Noah asked and looked around the room. "Will someone tell us?"

"We don't really know" Carole said and bit her lip. "I think Milo tried to tell Alice something and she didn't understand, isn't that so, kids?"

Alice nodded sadly. "I didn't know what he meant, and I told him, so we went to Granny, but she didn't understand either, and Milo got really mad and threw a pillow" she explained and glanced over at the boy hidden in Noah's arms.

"Is that what happened, sweetie?" Kurt asked and saw Milo nod. "Okay, why don't we go upstairs and talk just the four of us?"

Noah nodded in agreement. They would never get Milo to talk now with everyone watching him. They scoped up the kids and walked upstairs to the room where milo and Maya had been sleeping. Their own room wasn't really kidfriendly right now.

"So, tell us what happened, Milo" Kurt said gently as they sat down on the bed. "What did you want to tell Alice?"

Milo pushed his eyebrows together and sighed. Then he shook his head.

"You don't wanna tell us?" Noah asked and watched the boy closely. "Or you can't?"

Kurt looked confused, but Milo's eyes actually widened as if Noah was right.

"Was it something that you don't know how to sign?" Noah tried again, thinking about yesterday morning when they talked about cursing. He was met by a small nod, and they all exhaled.

"Okay, well…this isn't going to be easy, but we'll try the drawing-game that we played before, remember?"

Milo nodded but still looked a bit ashamed. "You think you can draw it?" Kurt asked and Milo looked uncertain. 'I'll try' he signed and ran out to grab a paper and some crayons from the room next door.

"We have to put him in a school where he can learn his own language" Noah whispered over Alice' head. "This isn't right. Of course he gets frustrated when he can't express himself."

Milo came back and sat down on the floor and grabbed a green crayon.

"So, what is it?" Noah asked. "Is it something you can eat? Or is it a toy, or an animal, or what?"

'Animal' Milo signed and took a deep breath before starting to draw. He had just made three green lines before Alice yelled "Frog!" and Milo nodded happily.

"Yay! I guessed right!" Alice shouted and hugged the boy that had on a smile as wide as his face. "It's the only green animal I know" she explained proudly.

"And I know how to sign it" Kurt said and watched them all turn their attention to him. "Ready?"

He made his hand look like a C lying on its back and moved it up and down under his chin a few times. They all laughed and tried it out. "Just like that! Now what was it that you wanted to tell Alice?" he asked curiously.

"We were talking about what animals we liked, and…"

"I'm sorry, honey, but I asked Milo. He can tell me himself" Kurt said and turned to the boy. Alice often talked for Milo because she thought she was doing him a favor. According to her, signing was fun, but kind of difficult, so she wanted to help. The problem was just that Milo never got a chance to tell things from his own perspective.

'I like frogs', Milo signed and looked pleased when he tried out the new sign. 'Daddy used to read a book about frogs and I wanted to tell Alice about it, but I forgot how to sign it.'

"That's okay, sweetie. You can't always remember every sign in the world. We just have to make sure that you learn as many as you need, okay?" Kurt said and hugged the boy close. He understood exactly what Noah meant, and tomorrow they would look into their options.

* * *

"Everything alright now?" Carole asked as they walked downstairs again a few minutes later.

"Yep" Noah said and hugged his mother. "He just got frustrated because he couldn't say what he wanted. We'll have to look into some classes or a new school if he's gonna stay with us."

"That sounds right" Carole said and watched him with a smirk. "Had a good morning?"

"Mom!" Noah shouted mortified. "You just live to embarrass me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, honey. I would stay out of Burt's way though if I was you" she laughed and watched him pale. "Just kidding. Or not."

"God… this family is nuts" Noah sighed as he walked out, just to bump straight into Sam.

"Hey, bro. Had any sexy times lately?" he laughed and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Fuck" Noah groaned. "Does the whole house know?"

"Yep. You're kind of loud. Or maybe I should say that _Kurt's _kind of loud." He chuckled and watched Noah blush.

"Well, yeah, I told him to keep quiet, or his dad would hear us."

"Oh yes he did" Sam said and nodded as he laughed. "He took the kids outside. Took Nana to tell him that you were done before he came back in."

"Oh my god!" Noah groaned and hid his face in his hands. "That's it, we're going home and I'm not seeing him before Christmas."

"Seeing who?" Burt asked and eyed him with narrowed eyes.

"You…?" Noah said and grabbed Sam's wrist as he tried to walk away. No way was he going to stay here alone with the scariest man on earth, whose son he just fucked while he heard them.

"Is that right?" Burt growled and stepped closer. "You know, when I gave you that offer yesterday, I thought that you may want to _sleep_ in, as you were so tired. Guess you weren't."

"What…no….yeah…I mean…"

"Dad, stop. I know that if you heard us it was probably me, which means that Noah is innocent…or something." Kurt said and walked up behind his father. "I mean, you know I'm not a virgin, right?"

"You're not?" Burt said and pretended to be shocked. "I don't care, Kurt. I don't wanna _hear _it."

"I'm sorry, but I can't control myself. Noah is just too…"

"And that's enough!" Burt shouted and walked out with his hands over his ears while Kurt and Sam chuckled silently on each side of a mortified Noah.

"You just had to do that, huh?" He asked his giggling husband.

"Yep, I had to. You're way too cute when you're embarrassed. I kind of love it. And you were too damn good this morning. I just couldn't be quiet. It's your fault." Kurt said and kissed him while hugging him close.

"Okay, it's my fault" Noah admitted. "And I don't regret it."

"Not even doing it with your father-in-law in the house?" Sam asked amused.

"Shut up, Sammy!"

* * *

**Sooo, what did you think? Was it okay? I kind of like it. Please take a minute of your precious time and leave a review. I need it while waiting for the spring. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi. Okay, there's no excuses that I can come up that that's good enough for this long wait. I've had trouble writing these last few weeks. I have some ideas, but they turn to shit when I try to write them down, and suddenly it had taken so long that I became stressed out over that and lost my inspiration. **

**Also, I have some diffucult scenes ahead of me, and I'm not sure how to write them because I'm not familiar with court and judges and law and stuff like that. *sigh* This is not gonna turn out well, I can tell you that already. Anyways, I wanted to give you a little something just to make sure that you know I'm still alive. It's not any good and nothing really happens, but it's how my brain works right now. :)**

**Hope that you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for sticking with me while I'm trying do decide what to do with this. Hugs for all of you!**

* * *

"Okay, let's start with A" Noah said as he hung up a large white paper on the kitchen wall.

He and Kurt had talked a lot about the lack of words in Milo's vocabulary when it came to ASL and they were seriously worried. The kid had way too few words that he knew how to sign, and they could see the frustration on his face almost every day when he got stuck. Therefore, they had come up with a plan; or a game, to be exact.

"What's that?" Alice asked curiously as she looked at the paper with suspicious eyes. Noah had just written a large red A in the middle of the paper and turned around with a huge smile to face the rest of the family. They were all seated around the kitchen table, waiting to hear about this new 'thing' their daddies had invented.

"That's the letter A, honey" Kurt said matter-of-factly, knowing damn well that it wasn't what his daughter was asking.

"Well, duh… I know that!" Alice rolled her eyes as everyone chuckled. "I mean, what's it for?"

"It's a game" Noah started to explain. "Every week we'll focus on one of the letters in the alphabet. We will draw or write things that start with that letter up here…" he pointed at the paper. "...and then we will learn how to sign it properly.

Milo's eyes became even bigger when he heard about the signing part and a huge smile broke out on his face.

"We will try to focus on words that we don't already know how to sign, because we all need to get better" Kurt explained. "It's important to this family that we understand each other."

"Apple starts with an A, right daddy?" Maya said excitedly.

"Yes, it does, sweetie. Can you sign it?" She shook her head slowly and turned to Milo. "Can you?" she asked and watched the little boy intensely.

Milo formed a C with his hand and tilted it so that the C was lying down on its back and then he moved it from his mouth and forward against her.

"That's right, sweetie" Kurt smiled and Milo nodded proudly. Everyone copied his moves until Milo looked pleased and nodded. "Will someone draw or write 'apple' on the paper so that we remember to practice it every day?"

Alice jumped down from her chair in a second and grabbed a red pencil.

"I mostly like red apples. The green's not that good" she explained as she drew a big red apple in one corner and filled it in neatly.

"Good job" Noah nodded and smiled. "We will also try to do as many things on this letter as possible this week."

He and Kurt had talked this idea through before they told the kids. It was a game to learn how to sign, but also a chance to try new food, learn new words, spell them out and be creative. Also, they would learn more about the letters of the alphabet.

"Like eat stuff that starts with an A" Kurt said and tried to think of anything besides apples. "Like acorn and almonds, or…"

"Apricots?" Noah suggested after a minute of thinking and looked pleased when Kurt nodded.

Kurt watched the kids that looked surprisingly excited. Yeah, this could be fun. "Now that we're talking about this, who wants to bake an apple pie?"

"ME! ME! ME!" Alice screamed as she bounced up and down on her feet. Maya bounced on her chair screaming together with her sister and Milo's hands were up in the air, waving as he smiled.

"Okay, okay. Geesh" Kurt laughed. "Get your aprons and wash your hands."

The kids were used to helping out in the kitchen, because Noah loved to cook and Kurt loved to bake, and they always let the kids help out as much as they could. If they made a mess, they could always clean it up.

Milo cut the apples into neat slices as Maya and Alice measured out the flour, sugar, and butter and squeezed it together in a bowl. This was the same pie that Kurt's granny had done when he was little, and it was the simplest recipe ever.

The apple slices were placed in a form and covered with sugar and cinnamon, and then the dough was placed on top, gently squeezed into crumbles.

The kids had flour everywhere and Kurt rushed them all into the bathroom even though they protested. When he was sure they could handle it themselves he started the boring job of cleaning the kitchen while Noah silently chuckled and whispered "Your idea, honey, so you can clean it up."

* * *

"So, who knows something that starts with an A, besides apples?" Kurt asked later when they sat around the kitchen table, happily eating pie and talking.

"Arm!" Maya said and shook her arm that held the spoon, which resulted in pie flying all over the room.

"Be careful, baby" Noah sighed and bent down to clean it up. "But yeah, it starts with an A. Not sure there's a sign for it though."

"I actually think you just point at it, but I'll look it up" Kurt said and took out his phone. Both he and Noah had downloaded an awesome app that served as an ASL dictionary and it was convenient because they could carry it with them everywhere. "Yeah, you're just stroking it while you say 'arm'. Good job, Maya. Anything else?"

Noah seemed to think for a while before speaking. "Maybe we could do something that has to do with arms?" he said, deep in thought. "Like bracelets?"

"Yay" Alice screamed. "I have tons of beads and thread in all colors! I'm gonna do one to give to Nana."

"Good thinking, Noah" Kurt nodded with a smile. His husband surprised him sometimes with his creativity, because Kurt was usually the creative one, unless it came to music.

"I have another one" Noah said. "Asparagus." He watched the confused faces of his children and smiled. "Yeah, it's a new word. It's a vegetable and I don't think you've eaten it before. We'll try it this week though."

He wrote 'arm' and 'asparagus' on the paper while Kurt searched the dictionary.

"Okay, let's look up the new words." He said. "So, asparagus…"

* * *

It was Wednesday and the family was all seated around the kitchen table making animals out of empty toilet rolls, paint, string, yarn and buttons. Alice had come up with the idea over breakfast, because animals started with an A and she barely knew how to sign any animals at all.

So here they were, making a zoo while learning how to sign words like 'elephant', 'giraffe', 'snake' and 'tiger'.

"You can't have a pink elephant, Maya!" Alice said and sighed as she watched her younger sister dip her paint brush in the pink paint and reaching for her animal.

"Yes I can" Maya said calmly and started with the legs. She concentrated hard and her tongue stuck out from between her lips as she covered the animal in paint.

"There's no pink elephants!" Alice insisted and rolled her eyes. "They're grey!"

"But I want it to be pink and it's my elephant, so I can decide, right daddies?" she said, a bit upset now as she watched them with worried eyes. She had always been the calmer and more insecure one of the two, while Alice was the one that wanted to rule the house loudly.

"It can be any color you want, of course" Kurt said quickly before all hell broke loose.

'My tiger's gonna be green' Milo signed and grabbed the bucket of clear green paint. 'So it can hide', he added and looked like it was the smartest idea ever.

"You're not making it right! You're stupid. All of you!" Alice almost screamed and stood up and glared at them.

"Alice!" Noah said sternly and narrowed his eyes at her. "That's not how we talk to each other in this house. Say you're sorry."

"NO! We were gonna make a zoo, but you're ruining it. I don't wanna play if you can't make it right" she screamed, picked up her half-made giraffe and threw it over the table. It almost hit Milo in the head as it bounced on the table and then knocked over the mug of water that stood in the middle so that they could clean their brushes between colors.

The water flooded over the table and ran over its sides which made everyone jump up and save their animals. Alice looked like she was about to cry as she ran out of the room with terrified eyes and Kurt followed her as Noah grabbed some paper from the counter.

"She almost ruined my elephant!" Maya cried as she crushed it against her chest, which made Noah cringe as he saw the pink paint make patterns on her shirt. Milo looked scared to death where he had backed up against the wall next to the refrigerator and Noah stood frozen for a second, debating on what to do first. Calm down the kid or clean up the dripping water.

That's of course when the phone rang.

He could hear Kurt talking and Alice crying in the other room, so he sighed, lifted Milo into his arms and grabbed the phone, deciding to ignore the water for now.

* * *

The phone call lasted for almost twenty minutes and when Kurt returned from the room with Alice on his hip he was met by an unusual sight.

Noah sat on the floor in the hallway with Maya and Milo in his lap, hugging both of them tightly and stroking their hair with closed eyes.

"Noah?" Kurt said quietly as he watched the scene.

"Yeah, we need to talk" he answered and turned his eyes to Alice. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Mmm" she mumbled and buried her face in Kurt's neck. He knew that she was ashamed, and decided not to mention what happened. He knew that Kurt had already talked it through with her and that was enough. "I want to finish my giraffe. It's gonna be yellow."

Kurt looked around. Maya had pink paint everywhere; on her shirt, in her hair and on her hands where she still had a firm grip on her elephant. Kurt cringed when he saw her shirt and silently cursed himself for not covering the kids up in aprons. The dirty water was dripping down from the edge of the table and covered the floor under it. _Really, how much water could fit into a mug?_ Milo's eyes were red as if he had been crying and Noah was covered in paint from the kid's half-painted animals. The house was a mess.

"Let's clean up the water together" Noah said and stood up. "And then you guys can continue and I'll have a talk with your dad, okay?"

Kurt watched him curiously as they wiped up the water and put everything back the way it was. Then he followed his husband into the living room and pushed the door until it was almost closed. They took a seat on the couch and leaned back with a sigh.

"What happened?" Kurt asked. "Except the fact that our oldest daughter has some serious control issues?"

Noah smiled and chuckled dryly.

"I got a phone call", he said. "From the social services."

"Oh…" was all that Kurt managed to say. This scared the hell out of him. What if they decided to place Milo back with his mother?

"Yeah. It's good though, I think. Apparently they had a hearing with Milo's mother the other day, and she didn't understand what she did wrong, or she didn't care." He sighed but managed a smile. "Anyway, the judge thinks she's an unfit mother, and she won't get Milo back. Ever."

"Seriously?" Kurt gasped and clasped a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, she lost custody of him".

"That means…" Kurt started.

"That means…" Noah smiled "That _we_ can fight for custody."

"It also means that we can lose, and then we won't ever see him again" Kurt whispered and bit his lower lip as Noah nodded.

"Yeah, it does, but we're gonna hire the best damn lawyer we can find, and then we're gonna fight until the end. It's not like they have a better option. No one wanted him before, so…"

Kurt looked at his husbands determined face and smiled as he took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Yes, we will fight. And we're gonna win because there's no chance in hell I'm gonna give up on him. Not a chance in hell." He punctuated every word as he said it, and Noah knew that Kurt would never give up.

"Me neither" Noah said and pulled Kurt closer to his side. "I consider myself the father of three, and I'm not ready to change that."

"Same here. We won't tell him though, right? I think it'll only worry him. What if they decide that we can't keep him? Oh, god, I don't ever wanna explain that to him." Kurt whispered shakily as he remembered that day before Christmas when Susan came to take him to his mother. That scream that came from Milo that day would never leave their minds.

"Tomorrow we'll call Susan and tell her about our plans, and then we'll find a lawyer that's LGBT-friendly and ready to fight for us even if the judge's a homophobe."

"This is probably the only time I'm sad that we're not straight" Kurt sighed. "It would've probably been so much easier to get custody if we were."

"Don't say that. He's here now, isn't he? They allowed us to be foster parents, so they must trust us, right?" Noah said and smiled. "I mean, how could they not? We're fabulous!"

"That, we are" Kurt laughed and pecked Noah on the lips. "Now, let's join our kids. We have a zoo to build and it's gonna have the most fabulous and extravagant animals in the world."

"What's Milo saying?" Maya said as she rushed into the living room a few minutes later. "Look!" She pointed at the small boy standing in the doorway and motioned at him to show them.

Milo moved all of his fingers on his right hand and let it travel up over his left arm, like the hand was running on his arm and smiled big.

"Oh, I know that one" Kurt said thankfully. "It's an animal that starts with an A…"

"What? Tell us!" Alice said as she bounced next to Milo. "Is it big?"

"No, it's really tiny, and strong. And it lives outside in our backyard and in everyone else's too probably. Thousands and thousands of them running around and building houses. Come on, guys, you know this one!" he smiled and looked at an excited Milo that showed with his thumb and forefinger just how tiny they are.

"Worm?" Maya guessed which made her sister sigh.

"It doesn't start with an A, Maya".

"But what is it then? I can't guess, daddies."

"Ants!" Alice suddenly yelled and Milo jumped forward and hugged her while they all laughed.

"That's right honey" Noah smiled and tried out the sign. "Come on, let's make a few. They can live in the zoo…"

* * *

**Okay, I'm kind of sorry for posting this, but I've made this game in real life, and it's kind of fun. I will try to update soon, but I'm not promising anything.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi! I know this has taken a long time again, but I've been off work, and had a few lazy weeks on a beach. **

**Also, it feels kind of weird writing and reading Glee-fics after Cory died. I know that I'm not very Finn-friendly in my fics, but I've always admired Cory as an actor. He always seemed so genuine and nice. It's tragic and sad and it will be really weird to watch season 5 without him in it. **

**A happier subject is the thought of you guys. Thanks to all of you amazing people who reviewed the last chapter. I forgot to respond to you, but know that I loved every single review. You guys are the best! Hopefully you'll like this as well. :)**

* * *

"Daddy! Can I call Max? I wanna play with him today!" Alice shouted into the living room as she passed by on her way to the kitchen.

Noah was on the couch, having a lazy morning in front of the television watching stupid cartoons with Milo and Maya as it was Saturday and they had nowhere to be. Kurt was in New York again and wouldn't be home until Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how everything went with work. This weekend would be a lazy one without making plans or having to do anything special. They would just take it as it came.

"Wow, that's unusual" he answered his daughter and rolled his eyes discreetly. The thing was that Alice would play with Max every single minute of every single day if she could. But, it was kind of a long time since he last met Blaine and Sam, and they didn't have any plans what so ever…

"I wanna go to Sammy" Maya mumbled from where she sat in Noah's lap and Milo didn't look like he cared, so Noah nodded.

"Yeah, we can give them a call and see if they're free, and if they are, then we can go, okay munchkin?"

"Yaaaay!" Alice screamed happily as she bounced out of the room to head to the phone and call her bestie. He could hear her talk excitedly into the phone in the kitchen and then she came running in and handed it to him with a huge smile. "Sam wants to talk to you, daddy, but he said yes!"

"Hi, man" Noah said into the phone as he tried to tuck Alice' wild curls behind her ears, but failed. "It's okay if we come over?"

They talked for a while until Alice couldn't take it anymore, and then they all got dressed and headed out.

Sam, Blaine and Max only lived like ten minutes away, but they never saw each other nearly as much as Noah would've liked. Sam was his best friend after all, but they all had work and kids and relationships to care about and the time never seemed to be enough. Now he happily pulled Sam into a tight embrace as he opened the door for them.

"Hey" Sam said and smiled as he let him go. His smile was as big as always, but his eyes held something that Noah couldn't quite put his finger on. "Can I talk to you later?" Sam asked and suddenly he looked kind of shy.

"Yeah, of course. I wanna talk to you, too. We got some news, and it's freaking me out."

Noah took a moment to breathe when he toed off his converse and left them on the floor. The news about Milo's mother losing custody was something that had run through his mind every second of every day ever since they found out two weeks ago. They hadn't talked about it with anyone yet, because the fear of losing him was too big to put into words. But now he realized that Sam would be the perfect person to talk to.

"Hey, guys!" Blaine entered the kitchen with his usual goofy smile plastered onto his face and dropped a quick kiss onto his boyfriend's lips as he walked by. "It's good to see you. Want some lunch? I was just gonna make some sandwiches if that's okay with you? Nothing fancy."

"It sounds great, man" Noah nodded and watched Blaine as he opened the fridge to pull out ingredients. He moved with a practiced ease through the kitchen, opening drawers and cupboards to pull out knives, plates and more stuff to put on the sandwiches. He hummed some tune to himself and moved his body along with the music as he worked and Noah watched with a smile how Sam's eyes followed his every move with a spark that seemed to light up the room. These two were more than adorable.

"Wanna head into the living room?" Noah finally said and Sam turned his attention to Noah.

"Yeah, sure…" he said and stood up. His hand stroked absentmindedly over Blaine's back as he walked by and Blaine immediately turned his head towards him and smiled that happy smile that never seemed to leave his lips. Noah knew exactly how it felt to be so in love that you couldn't stop smiling, and the urge to touch Kurt every time he walked by was still present after nine years.

"Okay, so what's on your mind?" Noah asked curiously as they sat down, facing each other on the couch. Sam squirmed a little bit where he sat and dropped his eyes.

"I… I've been thinking…" he started and took a deep breath. "I want to ask Blaine to marry me."

Noah just sat there, stunned. He and Kurt had actually been waiting for this, but still, hearing it made all the difference. Sam blushed and hid his face in his hands as he shook his head.

"I don't know if it's a good idea, though" he finally said with a small voice, and Noah reached out to pull his hands away.

"Why the hell not? That man's crazy about you, and you're already a family!"

"Yeah, but after _Sebastian_…" Sam cringed as he said his name. "…he said that he never wanted to go through that again. Ever."

"Oh…" Noah said and fell silent. He could of course understand that after what happened with that douchebag, but Sam was nothing like that.

"Yeah, _oh_." Sam said sadly. "I don't know if I can take it if he says no."

"I get that, man, but do you really think that he would say no? I mean, you guys talked before about you adopting Max, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Yeah, well, you can't do that if you're not married, so he can't be totally against it."

"Oh. I never thought about it like that" Sam said and looked a little bit happier. "And maybe we want to have another baby sometime, like _together_…" he said quietly.

"You want to have a baby with Blaine?" Noah asked and couldn't help the silly smile that spread across his face. Just the thought about that made his insides dance happily.

"Yes" Sam smiled. "It's not weird, is it?"

"Of course not. It's amazing. Have you talked about it? I mean, none of you can get pregnant, right? I think I remember Blaine saying that he can't anyway."

"No, he can't, and he wouldn't be anyway because that means he has to bottom." Sam said as to himself, and then he blushed when he realized that he said it out loud. "Oh… sorry…"

Noah chuckled silently. "No worries, man. I don't care what you do in bed. I knew you were a bottom, but I think I just thought that you maybe switched it up every now and then."

"Well, we don't." Sam said and looked kind of disappointed. "I tried, but he made it clear that he wants to be in control. I don't think he got to experience much of that with Sebastian."

"But you don't have to be on top to be in control. I mean, I'm mostly the one to top, but Kurt's the one in control almost as much as me, being the power bottom that he is." Noah chuckled and watched Sam blush deeper.

"How often do you switch?"

"Not as much as I would like, actually. I really like it when Kurt fucks me…"

Sam coughed at Noah's bluntness, but gestured to him to continue.

"…but most of the time I can't resist that tight ass of his." He finished the sentence and felt something stir in his lower stomach as he thought about it. "And it doesn't exactly help that he begs for me to fuck him every time, either." He wiggled his eyebrows and watched Sam chuckle. "It's just that sometimes we want it the other way around and then we shift. Simple as that."

"It sounds so easy…" Sam said and sighed.

"Well, have you tried to talk to him about it? Like maybe offer him to ride you or something that keeps him in charge while being the bottom. Or start with a little fingering and show him how good it can feel when you have a loving and careful partner that listens to you. Guess he hasn't had that before…?"

"Yeah, well…maybe I'll try" Sam said and shook his head. "But that wasn't what we were talking about."

"Oh, no, I guess it wasn't" Noah chuckled and remembered how this conversation started. "So you want another kid, and you want to marry him, right?"

Sam smiled. Leave it to Noah to not beat around the bush. "Yeah, basically."

"So talk to him. There's no harm in talking. I mean, he can say no, but that's the worst that can happen. He loves you too much to leave you over something like this."

Sam sighed. "You're right. I'll talk to him tonight when Max's asleep, and then I'll tell you how it went."

* * *

Blaine walked in a couple of minutes later with a big plate loaded with sandwiches. "Anyone hungry?" he asked and placed it on the table before walking out again to get glasses and something to drink. They could hear him gathering the kids and soon the room was filled with chatting kids and disappearing sandwiches.

"Hey, daddy, can we watch Cinderella tonight?" Maya asked as she ate. "It starts with a C, right, and it is C-week."

"Yes it is, sweetie. Maybe we can."

They were on week three at the game they invented to learn more signs, and this week was C-week. It was almost over, and Noah was so thankful for that, because there was a limit of how much carrots and cabbage you could eat before it became too much.

They had been drawing their favorite car, playing circus and baking cinnamon rolls much to the kids delight.

"Sooo, how much cake have you been eating this week?" Blaine asked excitedly after they explained the game to them.

"None!" Alice said with wide eyes. No one had actually thought of that. "Daddy! We can't have C-week without cake!" she said sternly.

"I'm with Alice on this one" Blaine said immediately just as Sam mumbled "Of course you are" and rolled his eyes.

"We'll do it tomorrow, Angel. We don't have any ingredients for cake at home." Noah said, trying to reason with her, but was interrupted by a bouncy Blaine.

"We'll head to the store and buy some, and then we'll come back here, bake a cake and watch Cinderella. It's gonna be the best Saturday ever."

"God, my boyfriend's a child" Sam mumbled but stopped when he got pulled into a huge hug and got his face peppered with small kisses."

"Yeah, but you love me" Blaine said as he pulled away. "I know you do" he said and pouted as Sam refused to answer. "Right?" he added and made those damn puppy eyes that no one could resist.

"Damn you" Sam chuckled and pulled him in for a deep kiss that made the kids giggle. "Of course I love you, silly."

Blaine bounced off his lap and clapped his hands. "Sooo, who's gonna come to the store with me to pick up cake stuff?"

"ME!" Max, Maya and Alice shouted while Milo's hand shot up into the air as an answer.

"Okay, okay…" Blaine laughed. "But I think we'll need another car if this is gonna work out. I can't fit four car seats into my car."

"We'll all go" Noah said and stood up. "That way we can stop you from getting every damn thing they have at the store."

"This is gonna be the best cake in the world" Alice said as she tied her shoe laces. "We'll have to send a picture to Dad."

"Of course we well, sweetie." Noah said and suddenly realized how much he missed his husband. But right now it was time for cake.

* * *

The trip to the store turned out to be absolutely crazy and out of control. Sam and Noah suddenly had four kids and Blaine running around and picking up random things that could possibly go on a cake, and then they stood there next to the shopping cart with puppy eyes until Sam or Noah sighed and gestured to them to put it in.

"This is out of control" Sam finally sighed. "This cake is gonna be as big as me if we keep letting them do this."

"I know. You could think that at least Blaine would give it up" Noah laughed.

"No way, he's the worst. He won't give up until this cart is full, and then maybe he will start carrying things in his arms."

"I wish Kurt was here" Noah mumbled. "He would fix this. No one argues with him when he's had enough. Not even Alice."

Sam nodded his head in agreement. Kurt really was good at putting his foot down, and they could've needed him right now.

"You're paying for this, man" Noah said the next time Blaine came back with cream, strawberries and four different colors of sprinkles.

"Of course. I counted on that. It was my idea after all, and I can more than afford it." He smiled and looked at the stuff they picked out. Maybe we're done?" he said and looked like he actually realized that they may have gone a little over board.

"You think?" Sam chuckled and shook his head. "Let's go home and make this damn cake. I'm not sure I wanna eat it if you're gonna fit all of this into it, but you go ahead. I'll watch."

"I'm with Sam on this one. Let's go find the kids."

* * *

The cake turned out to be completely disgusting, but the kids ate it anyway while giggling like maniacs. They placed it on the counter in the middle of the mess they had made and sent a picture to Kurt. They soon got an 'Oh my god, Noah!' back. He could see Kurt shake his head and roll his eyes over his lack of parenting and chuckled quietly when he thought about it.

Cinderella was as awesome as ever though and they all watched it while reciting every line and singing along to every song. Just like they always did.

Afterwards they let the kids run into Max's room to play while they cleaned up the kitchen.

"Hey, you wanted to talk about something, right?" Sam asked Noah in the middle of doing the dishes.

"Yeah, I just didn't wanna do it in front of the kids. It has to do with Milo."

Blaine and Sam raised their eyebrows in curiosity and Noah took a deep breath.

"Milo's mother lost custody. She has no parental rights anymore."

"Wow" Blaine simply said. "That's a good thing, huh?"

"Yes, it is, but it's also very scary. I mean, now we have a chance to actually adopt him, but we're still a gay couple with no biological bonds to him, and there's simply no guarantees. It can go either way."

Noah stroked the back of his neck and sighed. This was really freaking him and Kurt out. They wanted Milo to stay with them forever, but they didn't know what would happen. When they took him in they never thought that they would grow to love him like this. This boy had taken a place in their hearts next to Alice and Maya, and they wanted him to stay there forever.

"You need a lawyer" Blaine finally said. "And I have the perfect guy for you." He smiled, obviously very satisfied with himself and grabbed his phone. "His name is Nick Duval. We met in high school, and he's absolutely brilliant."

"Yeah?" Noah said and felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. "You think he has time to help us?"

Blaine shrugged. "You can at least ask him. He loves cases like this. He's gay as well, and he won't let anyone discriminate you."

"Thanks, man" Noah leaned in and hugged him. This would help a lot, if only this Nick guy said yes.

* * *

Noah called Kurt later that day and told him everything.

As they talked, Kurt Googled Nick Duval and gasped.

"Noah, he hasn't lost a case in five years! Wow…" he said with awe.

"Oh, I wonder how much he costs if he's that good" Noah said with worry evident in his voice.

"Let's not think about that right now, honey" Kurt said. "We'll talk to him and then we'll make a decision."

They agreed that Noah would call Nick and see if he had the time to help them. If he had, then they would meet him when Kurt came back.

* * *

"Hello, it's Nick Duval." The friendly voice said when Noah called that evening.

"Hi, my name's Noah Hummel-Puckerman. I got your number from Blaine Anderson. He thought that maybe you could help me and my husband with something. We really need a lawyer."

"Oh, yes, Blaine called me earlier and told me to expect your call. You're lucky, because I just closed a case two days ago, and now I have some time to help you."

Noah sighed with relief. This was the best news he could've hoped for.

"So tell me a little bit about this right now and I can look into it immediately. And then we can meet up in a few days and talk." Nick said eagerly. Noah could hear the excitement in his voice and felt a bit calmer.

"Well, Kurt and I are foster parents to this great five year old boy. His name's Milo Adams. His father died last year and the judges moved him to his mother whom he hadn't seen since she divorced his dad four years ago…."

He continued to tell Nick about what happened and how Milo was placed with them after months of searching for a suitable home due to his disability and what happened with his mother over Christmas and how she now had lost her parental rights.

"Wait, wait…" Nick interrupted him before he could finish. "Okay, this boy has no relatives, right?"

"No. They searched, but there's no one."

"Okay, and they tried for months to find a home where someone knew ASL?" Nick sounded even more excited now and Noah frowned. This was actually kind of sad. He shouldn't sound so happy about it.

"Yes."

"And now his mother has lost her rights?"

Noah agreed and waited.

"Okay, so this will be easy then" Nick finally said. "They don't even have a case."

"What?" Noah asked confused. What did he mean?

"Yeah, I mean, no one wanted him then and no one has claimed him yet. The state doesn't know what to do with him, and you already have custody. He's attached to you, you speak ASL and you want to keep him. They won't argue."

"You sound so sure…" Noah said. This made him feel nervous. It couldn't be this simple, could it?

"Well, I haven't read his whole file yet, and there's details that I have to go through before I can say it for sure, but the thing is that you're approved as foster parents, and that's a huge help. You're already in the system, and nothing has gone wrong since you took him in, right?"

"No. It's been amazing."

"This is gonna sound really awful, Noah, but the thing is that as long as Milo belongs to the state, they have to pay for him and try to solve this, which takes a lot of time and effort; especially as he has a disability. They want him off their hands, and you, my friend, and your husband are gonna help them with that."

"It actually sounds good when you say it like that, even if it's awful." Noah said. "It's just one more thing. I'm guessing that this will cost us a great deal of money, but we'll do it for Milo. He's more important than money, but..." He took a moment of silence. "Yeah…I guess that I wanna see if we can afford your salary before we start."

"Noah, this is actually really hard for people to understand, but I'm one of the cheapest lawyers out there. I love what I do, but I don't do it for the money. I take a lot of LGBT cases, and I fight like a maniac to seek some justice. I want the bad people to be punished, and I want the victims to get some help. That's my goal."

Nick fell silent for a minute. "I don't say this to brag, but my family is so loaded that I wouldn't have to work at all if I didn't want to, okay? I do this because I can change things, and I happen to be bloody good at it." He laughed a little and continued. "I really wanna help you if you'll let me. Placing kids with people that love them is my favorite thing in the world."

Noah couldn't believe his ears. This was better than he could've ever expected. "Okay" he finally said and nodded. "Okay, we would be really happy if you could help us."

"Thank you. I will contact the social services on Monday and do some digging. Then I'll call you back and we can set up a meeting. I want to meet Milo as well, of course."

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay, until then, Mr. Hummel-Puckerman. Have a nice weekend."

"You too. Bye."

Noah hung up and slumped back on the couch. Was this really happening? It sounded too good to be true, but Nick sounded sure and he was a professional. Also, a lot of the things he said actually made sense. He had to call Kurt.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought about it! :D**


End file.
